Kurakina Oil

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.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.