Anna Zvyagintseva. Firefly

The first stroke appears on a blank sheet of paper — thin, tentative. Perhaps it will grow into the trunk of a big tree, the face of a loved one, or a house with a round window. Or perhaps it will remain a simple mark on the page. Translucent thoughts take shape, unlocking doors that seemed shut forever. Drawing becomes their expression — a way of exploring reality, not merely mirroring the world. Philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy writes about this in his book Le Plaisir au dessin (The Pleasure of Drawing): “To draw is to approach something that withdraws. It is not a matter of reproducing the visible, but of making something appear that would not exist otherwise.” Anna Zvyagintseva’s practice is centered on capturing life’s smallest motions. She plucks them from the stream of life, turning them into sketches in her notebook. There, they take their rightful place, fitting into a consistent narrative thread and confidently showing that everything around them makes sense.

Anna Zvyagintseva is an artist of sublime attentiveness. Her gaze gently captures the fleeting beauty of reality and the everyday — the glimmer of light on the walls of St. Sophia of Kyiv, a blurred landscape seen through a dirty window, the sway of a curtain, the scribbles of a ballpoint pen, footprints in the snow, the warmth of an accidental touch. Each work begins with a drawing — a quick sketch from life, a first thought taking visual form, or finding shape in words. This approach allows her to build a consistent practice, where images from her notebooks migrate into her works, forming a holistic world of an artist. Anna Zvyagintseva works across a range of materials and media, from metal and paper to photography and painting. All of her works are fluid and ethereal, capable of disappearing at any moment.
She is constantly in dialogue with her own doubt: should an artist be a lens that merely reflects the outside world, or should they tell their own story? The acute awareness of her own presence — the notion of “I am in my works” — marked a significant stage in Anna Zvyagintseva’s artistic journey. Yet one thing has always remained unchanged: trust in her own feelings, which serve as a catalyst for deeper reflection. “Feeling is a crucial word and concept for me. Feelings and thoughts matter more than reaction, action, or outcome. Feelings are the basis, the base that helps to react and act,” says Anna.

The sense of vulnerability became pronounced in her works after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war (2014). Scenes of peaceful life, assembled from metal bars, crumble before the viewer’s eyes, underscoring their fragility. Around the same time, a recurring image of a curtain emerges — from a familiar cozy drape, it turns into a ghost dancing in the wind in the emptiness of a window shattered by an explosion. During the full-scale war, Anna Zvyagintseva discovers a new materiality — dissolvable, transparent, yet undeniably alive. She frequently turns to textiles, a medium that evokes a sense of safety, even as it can become a burial shroud. Despite the proximity of death, the artist’s works convey the potential for rebirth and hope — in a willow pole that has the power to sprout and become a tree, or in the weaving of a protective ghillie suit made of nettles that will help you come back alive. Through her works, Anna Zvyagintseva shows that the war couldn’t destroy the ability to dream and see beauty.

Amidst the uncertainties of war, she turns to the search for inner light. It is embodied by a firefly, which helps to overcome the fear of the path even through the darkest forest. Drawing on this feeling, the artist returns to painting, creating landscapes. They immerse you in a world where the real and the fantasy coexist. As you gaze at the still surface of the canvas, the landscape begins to feel familiar. You unconsciously want to start a journey to see its smallest details. This exhibition is a journey – into a stable and familiar world, where all the seeming coincidences take their place. A journey into the world of Anna Zvyagintseva — an artist who has caught a firefly and holds it gently in her hands.

Curator: Natasha Chychasova

You can visit the exhibition from March 6 to May 4, 2025.
Working hours: Wednesday-Sunday, from 12 PM to 8 PM (the Ticket Office is open until 7.30 PM).

❗ We care about everyone’s safety, so in case of an air raid alert, the exhibition will be closed. At this time, you can go to the nearest shelter. The exhibition will start working after the end of an air raid alert.