About the artist
Maria Papatsenko’s path to painting started in her early childhood with evening classes at a community center on the famous Arbat street in the center of Moscow, Russia, in an informal creative setting with a free-spirited atmosphere. As a child, Maria was drawing everything and was using every medium that was allowed (and some that were not). The next phase of her training took place at Moscow Art School #1, setting the foundation for her creative growth.
After graduating from the Art School at the age of 15, it became clear to Maria that she was destined to work in a creative profession. She entered the Theater and Art Technical School in Moscow, where, in addition to studying drawing and pictorial art, sculpture and composition, she learned how to make puppets and decorations for theatrical shows. By the time she defended her diploma, she was already working as an artist at the famous Obraztsov Puppet Theater. She also worked or interned in such renowned Moscow theaters as Sovremennik, Lenkom, and the Theater on Spartak Square.
The next step in Maria’s professional growth was the Moscow Graduate School of Fine Arts, where she acquired an advanced degree in interior design. Today, Maria is an experienced and sought-after interior designer renowned for her intrinsic artistic taste, her special vision, her keen perception of how people want to feel in their spaces, and for her intimate understanding of psychological effects of colors.
Maria’s ever-present need for creativity urge her to continue expressing her inner world and her unique vision through her paintings. She gets her inspiration in the Kaluga region, where native meadows, haystacks, motley grasses, woods and rivers, and the Russian seasons form the themes for her landscapes. But during times when she finds herself re-evaluating life and searching for new solutions, intense, fantastical images come to Maria’s canvasses, symbolizing the people and events that fill her days. Her experience in theatrical scenery and creating puppets adds vibrancy and drama to Maria’s unique artistic signature.
In 2014, Maria Papatsenko joined the Creative Union of Professional Artists of Russia. The same year, she won an international competition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet Mikhail Lermontov for the best lyric landscape. Maria has participated in exhibitions in the Ostrowski Museum and the Skryabin Museum. She had a solo exhibit in the Marina Tsvetayeva Museum in December 2015. In 2018, Maria won third place in the Modern Art category at the XXIV International Exhibition and Competition of Modern and Contemporary Art (Russian Artweek in Artplay). Most recently, she participated in the Golden Hands of Russia exhibit in Moscow.
Contact: natkom@yahoo.com, papacidi@mail.ru