The Art United exhibition by the Bat Yam Art Institute, running from March 23 to April 20, 2025, is a pivotal cultural event in Israel. This time, it brings together twelve artists from the Russian-Jewish diaspora. The curators, Marina Fedorovskaya, Shai Pardo, and Irina Vasilieva, explore how artists with Soviet academic backgrounds have reshaped their visual language, capturing the vivid moments in Israeli life and reflecting the urgency and complexity of the present.
Among them, the paintings of Katya Shchukina—who now lives and works in Tel Aviv’s Florentin neighborhood—stand out for their complex layering and emotional depth, leaving a lasting impression on viewers. Her work is subtle and layered, moving between what’s revealed and what’s kept to oneself, inviting attentive viewers to notice its mysteries. There is no spectacle, only a careful calibration of feeling.
From Moscow Foundations to Tel Aviv Practice
Shchukina was born in Moscow in 1980, shaped by the strict discipline of Soviet art schools. She studied at VGIK, the legendary Institute of Cinematography, under A.T. Borisov, and it influenced a lot: her work feels like a movie unfolding on canvas—she shapes the space, sets the rhythm, and conveys emotion as if she were directing each moment, resulting in art that is both aesthetically pleasing and emotionally resonant.
After moving to Tel Aviv in 2019, inspired by a mix of Bauhaus architecture and vibrant nature, Shchukina’s style has changed—colors became bolder, shapes were stripped down to a basic form, and the dialogue between her inner world and outer reality became more direct.
Her method, which she termed “overwriting,” involves layering two or three paintings on the same canvas before the final image appears. This technique helps to create a rich tapestry of textures and colors. “Two or three paintings on top, and the fourth one stays,” she explains. What’s left beneath carries the ghost memory of the hidden layers—a kind of emotional sediment. The final image, painted quickly—often in about thirty minutes—built on the foundation of multiple concealed iterations.
Painting as a Mode of Processing
For Shchukina, painting is more than just a profession, it’s her main way of reflecting on life. Her work isn’t about seeking attention or drama; instead, it transforms personal and collective intensity into a visual, calm reflection.
The figures on the paintings are drawn from Shchukina’s own struggles, triumphs, and memories. They don’t have facial features—the intention wasn't to erase identity, but to focus on the inner states. Without eyes or mouths, attention shifts to color, gesture, and simplified contour.
She resists being boxed in by nationality or geography, her visual language comes from her own life path. Her open-mindedness and independence let her connect with today’s worldwide concerns, while maintaining a distinct voice.
Key Works in the Exhibition
Two works in Art United trace the arc of her recent development.
Portrait of Vera and Nadia (2022)
Oil on canvas, 70 × 80 cm
This work is a part of an ongoing series where she portrays her daughter, who is a muse and emotional anchor. Shchukina focuses on capturing a psychological moment rather than likeness: color sets the mood, fragments of revealed underpainting remind of half-remembered thoughts. The sense of incompleteness mirrors the fragility of an emotion just beginning to form or fading.
Empty Town (2024) — Diptych
Oil, charcoal on canvas, 70 × 140 cm
Here, Shchukina moves to metaphor, painting houses as stand-ins for people, where facades echo inner lives. The artist captures solitude in the city and expresses emotional distance in a crowd, using simple shapes and a quiet color palette to draw viewers in. As she says, “The diptych about the city is about feeling empty and drawn inside.”
Together, these works show how Shchukina moves easily between the personal and the symbolic, the intimate and the structural.
A Practice Defined by Imperfection, Color, and Modernist Resonances
Shchukina “made imperfection a signature” – what connects her to artists like Matisse, Modigliani, and Rothko through her use of color and form, while the expressive rawness of Basquiat and Auerbach is noticed in her bold, unrefined strokes.
Her art also resonates with Fauvism: she conveys emotional intensity through vibrant colors and bold brushwork, and reveals psychological essence by deliberate omission of details. The gradual removal of charcoal in her 2024-2025 works signals a shift towards lighter forms.
Curatorial Framework and Institutional Significance
Curator Marina Fedorovskaya, known for her work on identity and migration, guides Art United. Her expertise in these themes naturally led to a collaboration with Shchukina, beginning with Home Sweet Home. Haifa (2023).
Shchukina’s artistic journey is clearly moving from an alternative-space project to a museum-level exhibition:
● 2021 – Gallery on the Rock, Netanya
There were 10 works presented, attracting over 500 visitors. The gallery sold four paintings right on the spot.
● 2023 – Home Sweet Home. Haifa (AGURAN BAR)
An alternative-space exhibition co-curated by Fedorovskaya explored themes aligned with Shchukina’s conceptual growth.
● 2025 – Art United, Bat Yam Art Institute
This exhibition highlighted acceptance within the professional art world, marking a new phase in Shchukina’s career.
International Presence and Collection History
Shchukina’s works, held in private collections across Russia, Cyprus, the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, Italy, Serbia, Georgia, and Germany, showcase her recognition all over the world. Notably, one of her paintings is part of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art's collection, highlighting its enduring value.
In late 2023, Shchukina spent several months working in Tbilisi, Georgia, creating paintings and a ceramic commission for a restaurant. Private collectors acquired all works from this period—a sign of the unique attractiveness of her pieces of art.
Between Heritage and Renewal
Within Art United, Shchukina’s paintings navigate the tension between Soviet discipline, characterized by structured rules, and Israeli immediacy, marked by spontaneous expression. Each piece is very well-balanced. For her, painting is a process of transformation—layers, faceless figures, expressive color, all coming together in a language of resilience.
Shchukina’s work suggests that visible elements are merely a fragment of a larger narrative. Beneath every surface, other stories linger, hidden but still alive. Through gesture and hue, she reveals how memory is never truly erased.
At the Bat Yam Art Institute, her canvases engage viewers with their quiet intensity, encouraging us to cherish all the past moments which form our present.
