Natasha Dikareva

Artist Bio

Natasha Dikareva was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine and studied art in St. Petersburg, Russia during the hey-day of Soviet power. The genre of Soviet realism permeated Dikareva's young creative life. The narrow standard of approved art inadvertently pushed Dikareva to develop her own symbolic language. Dikareva immigrated to Minneapolis, USA and received her MFA in 2004 from the University of Minnesota. She won the Grand Prize at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in 2012. She exhibited at the Shanghai Art Expo, as well as at numerous galleries across Europe and the USA. Her work is featured in various publications, including 500 Prints on Clay and New Ceramics European magazine, and is held in public and private collections. She exhibits locally and internationally.

Dikareva's clay sculptures bring to life surreal, exquisitely formed human figures which often morph into other biological forms such as birds, fish and shells. Humans and other living creatures are united in the experience of life. Dikareva's latest work develops during an intensively introspective process, confronting the uncertainty of physical security. The recent body of work reflects a concern with current events and an imagined biological response to a world that has been decimated by industrialization, war and pandemic. New life springs from shells which have survived the collapse, offering a sense of optimism and and possibility, providing a sanctuary from the adverse effects of an over-industrialized world.