About Irina Kurganskaya

I am a Ukrainian-born artist currently living and working in Portugal. My artistic practice is deeply rooted in observation, memory, and everyday objects that quietly carry human stories. I am inspired by things that may seem ordinary at first glance. These subjects fascinate me because they hold traces of lived experience, culture, and emotion without the need for words. I create realistic acrylic paintings as a way to slow time down. Through meticulous detail, controlled light, and carefully built textures, I aim to give familiar objects a new presence and weight. My process is intentional and layered. I work gradually, allowing the painting to evolve until it reaches a point where realism becomes a vehicle for storytelling rather than an end in itself. My journey as an artist began with a strong inner need to observe and recreate the world around me with honesty and precision. Over time, this grew into a conscious artistic path, where technique serves meaning. Choosing acrylics was a natural decision for me. The medium allows for depth, clarity, and sharp realism while giving me full control over color, contrast, and surface. It suits my disciplined working rhythm and my desire to achieve a tactile, almost photographic presence while remaining unmistakably painted. I am drawn to medium and large-scale works, as they allow the viewer to fully enter the scene and notice details that might otherwise be overlooked. Scale plays an important role in how my paintings communicate, especially in series such as Roads of Memory, where distance, texture, and atmosphere are essential to the narrative. I have been creating art for many years, developing my skills through continuous practice and focused self-education. While my background includes artistic training, my strongest growth has come from daily studio work, experimentation, and long-term series development. I have participated in exhibitions and have experience presenting my work to an international audience. What drew me to Artfinder is its emphasis on original art, individual voices, and meaningful connections between artists and collectors. I see the platform as a space where my work can reach people who value craftsmanship, narrative depth, and authenticity. Through my paintings, I invite the viewer to pause, look closer, and sense the quiet stories hidden within familiar forms.