Between Layers

Creativity is like melancholy; it speaks of something that does not exist.

The act of creation is, for the artist, an act of grounding. Through painting, she seeks to immortalize her surroundings, loved ones, or, ultimately, herself. Self-portraits are an emanation of her perception of herself as a center from which other contexts emerge. While she occasionally portrays allegorical themes and her works feature fantastical, hybrid creatures, what matters most is the ordinary and the real. At the core of her interest lies the human figure, but her figurative narratives are distorted and ambiguous.

The watercolor technique is a swift one, prone to mistakes, constantly reminding that errors are an inherent part of the creative process. The artist allows herself to be imperfect; she refuses to place ideas above humanity and values authenticity. The complications and complexities of multilayered experiences are reflected in her watercolors—semi-transparent layers hidden one behind another, enigmatic.

Curator: Marianna Łomża

/

Dina Leonova DINKA is a Belarusian artist living in Warsaw. In 2011, she earned a master’s degree in architecture in Minsk and subsequently worked as an architect in Moscow for a year. In 2013, she returned to Minsk, where, while raising her child, she transitioned to a professional path as a graphic designer.

Since 2015, DINKA has been consistently pursuing her passion for watercolor painting, despite numerous professional challenges and radical life changes. In 2021, due to the political situation in Belarus, she was forced to emigrate—first to Kyiv and later, following further difficult experiences, to Warsaw in 2022.

Currently, Dina Leonova is a scholarship recipient at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London, where she is honing and developing her artistic talent. The exhibition “Between Layers” at HOS Gallery in Warsaw will be her first solo exhibition in Poland.