About
1988: Born and raised in the countryside of Moscow, Russia
Currently lives and works between Moscow, Paris and Barcelona
Education
2018 - 2019: MA Creative and Collaborative Enterprise, University College London
2005 - 2010: BA Sociology, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Short courses
2023: Long pose drawing, Barcelona Academy of Art
2019: Foundation course, London Fine Arts Studios
Selected exhibitions
On the Other Way, September 18 - 21, 2025, Hub/Art, Carrer del Dr. Trueta 183, Barcelona, Spain
Poles of one summer, August 8 - 29, 2025. A-House, Moscow, Russia
Works On Paper 7, May 10, 2025. Blue Shop Galleries, SW9 6BH, London, UK
Tales of Xenophobia. Les Autres..., October 9 - 31, 2024. 31 rue de Turenne, Paris, France
Summer Exhibition, June 18 - August 18, 2024. Royal Academy of Arts, London
Emergence, June 2023. Visionary Art Collective, NYC, USA
Anna Antonova, La Digue as part of Art-Space-Hopping. July 7 - 31, 2022 Krivokolenny 9/3, Moscow, Russia
Art Fairs and special projects
May 26 - 28, 2023 — Port Art Fair, Sevkabel Port, Kozhevennaya Liniya, 40, St Petersburg, Russia
September 14 - 18, 2022 — Blazar Young Art Fair, 2022, Moscow City Museum, Russia
Residencies
La Botanica, March - June, 2023, Barcelona, Spain
Biography
Anna Antonova is a figurative painter, born and raised in Moscow region. She studied sociology and anthropology in Moscow and London, and worked in cultural management and fundraising before turning to art in 2020. In 2023, she completed training at the Barcelona Academy of Art.
Her practice is rooted in a tactile, almost haptic experience of the present moment. Her graphic works carry an airy, ethereal lightness, opening a space for breath within the composition. Sensory images, light transformed into rhythm — together they create an atmosphere of weightlessness. Rather than seeking to replicate the visible world, Anna treats external reality as a backdrop for exploring and articulating her own feelings and ideas. The flatness of her imagery and the at times improbable palette connect her to the Post-Impressionists, for whom art was less a mirror of reality than a medium for expressing inner truth.
Anna’s work has been shown internationally in Paris, New York, and London, including the 2024 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and Works On Paper 7 at Blue Shop Galleries, London.
Artist statement
I create figurative paintings in oil and watercolor, drawing inspiration from everyday life — fleeting encounters, family scenes, and moments of natural beauty. My process begins with photographs I take while traveling or observing, which I then reimagine through altered compositions and expressive color.
Watercolor brings spontaneity and magic through its unpredictability, while oil offers control and depth — yet I often paint oil in a fluid, watercolor-like way. Each work is rooted in a story or memory, but my goal is to spark the viewer’s own emotions and recollections, inviting them to feel and remember in a personal way.
Press
Where beauty is created: in Anna Antonova's studio in Moscow. Gathering (obdn.ru), April 2025
Flower in the brain, Blumenhaus magazine, April 2024
‘How I spent my summer’, Sample, 2023
‘Anna Antonova among participants of Port Art Fair’, Sobaka, 2023
’Part of a landscape’ solo show by Anna Antonova,
The Vanderlust, 2023
Cultobzor, 2023
‘Highlights of Blazar young art fair’, Art Flash Magazine, 2022
‘Blazar contemporary art fair has announced the list of participants’
The Blueprint, 2022
Buro, 2022
‘Top 3 artsits at Blazar young art fair’, Tatyana Stolyar, 2022, Antigloss Telegram Channel
‘Top 9 artsits at Blazar young art fair’
Alexander Radaev, 2022, Parnasskiy peresmeshnik Telegram Channel
‘La Digue by Anna Antonova at Krivokolenny 9/3’
Art-Space-Hopping Festival
Portfolio request