Ksenia Sandesko

KSENIA SANDESKO

Ksenia Sandesko was born in 1996 in Yenakiievo, Ukraine. In 2014, she enrolledin the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts, specializing in «Graphic Design.»After defending her bachelor’s degree, Ksenia continued her studies in thedepartment of easel painting. She worked in the studio of Vasily LeontyevichGanotsky, People’s Artist of Ukraine. Upon completing her master’s thesis in2020, Ksenia moved to Moscow.In 2021, she attended the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts as a free listener butsoon decided to pursue a career in contemporary art and left St. Petersburg.In 2023, the artist joined «Free Workshops,» a one-year educational programby the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, specializing in «Newest Art.»Her first solo exhibition, «Moments,» took place in 2021 at the BIS ART galleryin Winzavod. Ksenia’s works were also featured at the ART Russia fair from2021 to 2023. In 2022, she held a solo exhibition, «Between Two Dimensions,»at NII SREDA. In 2024, a solo exhibition was held in the center of Moscow,«Physiology of Nature,» at Askeri Gallery, where in collaboration with the artist,the ZVON dance-theater participated with a performance «Body and Soul,»depicting images from the paintings.Currently, Ksenia lives and works in Moscow, where she continues herexhibition activities

ARTIST STATEMENT

In an era dominated by digital interactions, whereincreasing isolation of individuals and the dominanceof the external over the internal are becoming moreprevalent, it is essential for me to explore human nature,to return to the roots, namely, to oneself, into the realm ofsensations and experiences. By focusing on the sensorylife that defines our existence, I aim to highlight thepressing issues of self-identification, the lack of intimacy,and emotional authenticity. A central aspect of my art isthe concept of «corporeality.» I view the body not merelyas a biological object but as a subject that has preservedhuman experience since archaic times. For me, the body issomething that thinks, feels, where every gesture, posture,and fold conveys the complexity of the mental state andnarrates how the soul appears. Through figures thatintersect yet remain isolated from each other, I strive toconvey the duality of personal relationships: the constantcontact between one’s own world and the reality of others,alongside the persistent distance that remains. The imagesin the paintings serve as a metaphor for the complexstruggle between connection and isolation, emphasizingthe shared social question of the search for identity andmeaning. The meticulously crafted figures, contrastedwith the exaggeratedly decorative surroundings, createa conflict that reflects the complexity of the relationshipbetween an individual’s inner states and the realitiesthat surround them, where the outside world holds lesssignificance. I underscore this opposition through theuse of cotton in the background, which stands out fromthe overall painted canvas, appearing as somethingforeign. Color, as one of the artistic tools for depictingreality, ceases to adhere to academic laws of lightingand becomes entirely self-sufficient. Bright, open colorschemes reflect the intensity of emotional tension.Negativity, as well as the effect of solarization, in thecontext of painting, emerges as something incorrect,turned inside out, like the hidden vulnerability that hassurfaced.

EDUCATION

Education— School of Contemporary Art “Free Workshops” MMOMA (2023-2024)/program-“NEWEST ART”,Moscow/Russia— Kharkov Academy of Design and Arts (2018-2020) specialty — “Easel painting”/master’s degree/ Ukraine— Kharkov Academy of Design and Arts (2014-2018)/specialty - “Graphic Design”/Bachelor/ Ukraine

PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS

Physiology of Nature/ASKERI GALLERY/Moscow/Russia2022

Between two dimensions /NII SREDA/Moscow/Russia2021 - Moments/Bis Art Gallery/Vinzavod Center for Contemporary Art/Moscow/Russia

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

2023 Night of the Arts/Art Object Gallery/Novotel/Vladivostok/Russia2023

Festival «Between the Past and the Future»/Askeri Gallery/curator -PolinaAskeri/Zaraysk/Russia2023

Theirs: Out of control/BIZON/curator Alexander Shagulin/Kazan/Russia2023

COMMON FUTURE/On Shabolovka/curator

Alexander Kremer/Exhibition halls of Moscow/Russia2023

Each is the only one/Gallarty

Triptich gallery/Moscow/Russia2023

Fulcrum 2.0/ARTICHOKE/curators

Olga Shmukler, Ekaterina Sidorenkova/Moscow/Russia2023

WOW! 2.0/Here on Taganka/curator -

Ksenia Gorbatyuk/Exhibition halls of Moscow/Russia

FAIRS

CATALOG/Askery Gallery/ Sytin’s Typography/Moscow/Russia2023 - MANIFEST/Art Object Gallery/Vladivostok/Russia2021 - 2024 -

Art Russia/Gostiny Dvor/Moscow/Russia2022 -

ArtFestSpb 2022/Sevkabel Port/Saint Petersburg/Russia