Kseniya Ostrovska was born in Ukraine and lived in various places throughout the United States before settling down in NYC to complete her studies. Originally focusing on printmaking, she developed an appreciation of line and texture in the natural world, the movement and chaos inherent in natural processes.
With the start of the pandemic, Kseniya retreated to the Catskill mountains and focused solely on painting. Her art reflects her deepening connection with the garden that she planted by hand, as her tender familiarity with the plants is embedded in each painting. Kseniya has an Impressionist and Fauvist taste in color, working with thick paint and loosely brushed areas. Her biggest influences are Monet, Henri Manguin, and Renoir. She also loves experimenting with abstraction using acrylics in translucent layers that suggest movement and atmosphere.
After the opportunity to live in rural upstate New York, surrounded by acres of living forest and cultivating a garden, Kseniya said she “realized how a connection with the earth gives me a sense of place and a vitality quite different from the restlessness and melancholy I experienced while living in cities.” Her work offers viewers the experience of careful attention, respect, and micro-level fascination with the natural world. Ultimately, Kseniya says, “I consider myself a citizen of the planet and my primary responsibility is to respect the planet and tread lightly on it.”