Born in 1990 in Leningrad, lives and works in London.
At the center of the artist's thoughts has always been the idea of the universality of ceramics and how this environment allows communication not only for members of the community, but also for people who are far from each other in terms of geography and time.
“From the age of five, I attended courses dedicated to young children at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and one of my most vivid memories from there is the Neolithic section. When I saw fragments of dishes from the Caucasus region, I immediately felt a connection with their ancient creators. What struck me, and still strikes me today, was the inextricable connection between the shape of these finds, the manual process by which they were created, and the unpredictable behavior of clay on fire. You can still see the fingerprints of those who worked them, the brownish color of the clay, and the shadows from the fire.”
By presenting unchanging prehistoric symbols, grouped into strict forms, whose simplified images are in the collective unconscious, the artist tries to establish a more subtle form of relationship between the viewer and the work, which is intuitive and spontaneous.
“I allow myself to be guided in my work by emotions and memories of impressions, but I cannot force my observer to experience them in the same way. I like to leave an open interpretation because that is how I like to perceive art.”
Irina's sculptures combine simple forms of form with complex textures that mimic the effects of aging and decay, and from the Italian masters Marino Marini, Alberto Burri or Giorgio Morandi, she borrows the use of dusty colors, sometimes enlivened by bright tones.
