Katya Krasnova
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
Katya Krasnova is a Ukrainian-born artist based in Los Angeles. She works with painting, ceramics and tattooing, and all three with the same figures. She paints young girls with blank expressions and adult weight behind them. They come from her own life but she keeps them open so others can find their own reading. She has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles and Ukraine.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you end up painting in LA?
A: I'm a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. I started as a tattoo artist and spent years working and traveling between cities. Painting has always been part of my life, as a more independent and slower practice. Moving to LA gave me the space to focus on it more seriously and start developing a consistent body of work.
Q: The girls in your paintings carry something heavy. Where do they come from?
A: They come from a personal perspective—from my own experience of growth and the transition from childhood to adulthood. But I keep them open so people can find their own reading. They don't show clear emotion on purpose.
Q: You tattoo and make ceramics too. Do they come from the same place?
A: Yes, they're connected. All the figures exist within the same universe, just expressed through different mediums.
Q: Your paintings are very spare. Was that a conscious choice, or did they just get quieter over time?
A: It's always been minimal. I'm not interested in anything unnecessary, so the work is reduced to what feels essential.
Q: Loneliness, adolescence, vulnerability. How do you approach those themes without being literal about them?
A: It's hard to define what they feel. They carry a subtle sense of mischief, existing in their own world and moving through it in their own way. There's more than one feeling in them.
Q: Is there anything new you can tell us about?
A: I'm continuing to build on the work I'm doing right now. The process is intuitive, and I'm letting it develop without defining it too early.
