POLINA DEMIDOVA

Polina Demidova started painting at an early age and has been active in various artistic fields, including visual illustration.  Born in Moscow in 1986 into a family of painters, she obtained a master‘s degree in Industrial Design from the State University in Moscow. Since 2008 she has resided in Geneva, Switzerland, working as an independent painter and art instructor. Besides her multi-media collages, rich in textures and materials as well as carefully selected and personalised symbols, Polina works with the more traditional technique of oil painting, seeking to preserve the delicate balance between realistic and decorative works.

 

Polina first began showing her works at regular exhibitions in 2010, staging shows in Switzerland, France, Italy and Russia. She has received numerous prizes, including first prizes from the Association of Artists Palette Carouge and a contest organised by the Brachard gallery in Geneva. Her paintings can be found in private collections in France, Russia, Switzerland, the United States and Saudi Arabia. 

 

Polina is inspired by stained glass windows in the art nouveau style and does not hide her admiration for Klimt, Schiele, Hodler, Morris, Hockney or Beardsley in any of her works. She remains in awe of the beauty of Swiss landscapes, visible through her works, which show mountains, lakes and fields. Polina’s work Hommage à Hodler, exhibited in Geneva in 2013, is inspired by the Lac Léman vu de Chexbres (1904) by Ferdinand Hodler.

 

Polina began customising collages for clients five years ago and hasn’t stopped since. She collects paper elements from the client’s life including important dates and people, travels, homes, favourite things, hobbies, special places and pets to create a truly unique work that can take up to a month to create. “Collage is a philosophy in itself,” says the artist. “A self-irony as protection against derision, as creation against destruction, moderation against excesses, respect for facing the other, the opposite of aesthetic shock, as a refinement against denigration and lyrical dialogue instead of a manifesto.”

 

​

 

EXHIBITIONS

 

2015
“Swiss Panorama Express”, Gallery INA DEDERER & FRIENDS, Zurich, Switzerland - collective

 

2014
First prize at "Envie de dessiner" organized by Brachard

 

2012
First prize at the Palette Carougeoise, Geneva