Natalia Turnova

You experience something special. It's like a singer: they practice and practice, reach their peak form, and hit the right note. For me, instead of a voice, I have brushes, palette knives, paint, drills, and sanding machines. I work for this feeling. Not for virtuosity - it actually kills everything, and I don't like it; it's lifeless. Things like a beautifully designed chair or cup can be virtuosic. Art is about something else. It's about what didn't exist before and suddenly appeared. You suddenly see something extremely interesting and unusual, and you want to share it. There's no pride in it - there's a sense of responsibility. You create a painting, and you shouldn't be ashamed of it, so do it well.

Natalia Turnova is an artist and sculptor who holds a special place in contemporary Russian art. She grew up in the East: she was born in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and at the age of five, she moved to the country of Burma in Southeast Asia with her parents. Researchers of Turnova's work speculate that the vibrant, rich colors of the East greatly influenced the color palette of her paintings.
After graduating from the Moscow Higher Art and Industrial School (formerly Stroganov School) in 1983, she met Boris Orlov, an artist who recognized the affinity of her art with the unofficial art scene, which largely determined her future path. Since the 1990s, Natalia Turnova has become one of the most sought-after artists. By this time, she had developed her own recognizable style: an expressionist manner, bright colors, large format, and precise form.
Turnova has always been true to her intuition, not seeking to belong to any particular art movements or groups, and as a result, she became an original artist and philosopher for whom creativity is what grows out of life. This is why any statement she makes, born out of long contemplation and numerous "trial and error" experiences, is a declaration of existence, of essence, made by a subtle observer and researcher.

Natalia Turnova's works can be found in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Far Eastern Art Museum, the Oklahoma Museum (USA), the Museum of Modern Art in Lodz (Poland), and others.