Anastasia Kurakina Art Joker

In both her portraits and striking figurative paintings, internationally renowned artist Anastasia Kurakina seeks to deeply probe a subject beyond what can be purely represented in a given piece.

Born in Moscow in 1987, Kurakina spent her childhood surrounded by art, poring over books about the Italian Renaissance at an early age. Her love of art led her to study at several prestigious art schools including the Academy of Fine Arts of Russia, the Academy of Fine Arts Rome, where she obtained a master’s degree in fine art and, in 2018, the Sorbonne University in Paris. 

In her figurative, abstract and interior paintings, Kurakina uses rich colors and provocative shapes to explore a bit more than what is eventually represented on the canvas. Throughout her artistic career, Kurakina’s expressive figurative and nude watercolors have garnered critical acclaim, with many critics drawing comparisons to the styles of such masters as Gustav Klimt, David Hockney and others. Since her first exhibition in Moscow in 2005, she has participated in shows around the world, including galleries and museums in Los Angeles, Mexico, London, Milan and elsewhere.

Kurakina’s works are held in the collections of the Nonantola Benedictine Museum and Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the Centro Nazionale di Studi Manzoniani, the International Museum of Humor in Art in Tolentino and more.

FInd original Anastasia Kurakina paintings, drawings and watercolor paintings, and more on 1stDibs.

Revitalize your interiors — introduce drawings and watercolor paintings to your home to evoke emotions, stir conversation and show off your personality and elevated taste.

Drawing is often considered one of the world’s oldest art forms, with historians pointing to cave art as evidence. In fact, a cave in South Africa, home to Stone Age–era artists, houses artwork that is believed to be around 73,000 years old. It has indeed been argued that cave walls were the canvases for early watercolorists as well as for landscape painters in general, who endeavor to depict and elevate natural scenery through their works of art.

The supplies and methods used by artists and illustrators to create drawings and paintings have evolved over the years, and so too have the intentions. Artists can use their drawing and painting talents to observe and capture a moment, to explore or communicate ideas and convey or evoke emotion. No matter if an artist is working in charcoal or in watercolor and has chosen to portray the marvels of the pure human form, to create realistic depictions of animals in their natural habitats or perhaps to forge a new path that references the long history of abstract visual art, adding a drawing or watercolor painting to your living room or dining room that speaks to you will in turn speak to your guests and conjure stimulating energy in your space.

When you introduce a new piece of art into a common area of your home — a figurative painting by Italian watercolorist Mino Maccari or a colorful still life, such as a detailed botanical work by Deborah Eddy — you’re bringing in textures that can add visual weight to your interior design. You’ll also be creating a much-needed focal point that can instantly guide an eye toward a designated space, particularly in a room that sees a lot of foot traffic.

When you’re shopping for new visual art, whether it’s for your apartment or weekend house, remember to choose something that resonates. It doesn’t always need to make you happy, but you should at least enjoy its energy. On 1stDibs, browse a wide-ranging collection of drawings and watercolor paintings and find out how to arrange wall art when you’re ready to hang your new works.