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“The candle, fragile yet powerful, represents the unique spark each human being holds. Its gesture—lighting, sharing, illuminating—becomes a transformative act, a fire that does not burn but transmutes.”
In the painting of Galina Zhurkina (born 1981), a Russian artist with refined academic training from the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry, a powerful encounter unfolds between cultural memory and traces of the sacred, expressed through a pictorial language that peers into the depths of being with poetic clarity.
Zhurkina, an honorary member of the International Academy of Contemporary Arts (MASI) and an active member of the Professional Union of Artists of Russia (PSHR), has established herself on the international stage thanks to a painting style that unites refined symbolism, metaphysical atmosphere, and spiritual intensity. Her works do not merely decorate, but interrogate. They do not illustrate, but reveal. Her artistic journey crosses design, illustration, and applied arts, culminating in a painting that becomes a writing of the soul.
In Misterious Night, Galina Zhurkina positions herself within the tradition of great visionary painting, evoking inspirations ranging from William Blake to Marc Chagall, from Odilon Redon to Leonora Carrington. The scene is permeated by a sense of nocturnal mystery and cosmic sacredness: a solitary figure seated on a crescent moon holds a glowing wand, lit by a small candle—the symbol of the soul’s spark.
But this figure is neither angel nor dreamer: it is the Creator of Light, a modern demiurge ready to awaken the gothic city below with the fire of the spirit. The cathedral spires, soaring like arrows, recall the vertical aspiration of Gothic architecture—not only a striving towards God, but a metaphor for inner quest.
Symbolist tradition intertwines with a personal and recognizable visual language, made of velvety hues and silences charged with meaning. The composition, measured and architectural, echoes the rigor of Eastern icons, yet the narrative remains open, contemporary, profoundly human.
The work does not propose an escape from the world, but a call to responsibility: “You are the one who carries the fire,” the lunar figure seems to whisper to the viewer. In a time when darkness seems to prevail, Zhurkina offers a vision of active hope: an art that becomes an ethical and spiritual act, capable of igniting awareness, illuminating lives, awakening dormant creative energy.
The candle, fragile yet powerful, represents the unique spark each human being guards within. Its gesture—lighting, sharing, illuminating—becomes a transformative act. As in ancient liturgies or alchemical tales, fire does not burn, but transfigures.
Zhurkina situates herself in the contemporary art landscape as a visual mystic, able to combine the symbolic language of the past with the urgencies of the present. In Misterious Night, painting becomes a threshold: a silent passage between visible and invisible, between who we are and who we might become.
© Elisa Larese Moro per Tablinum Cultural Management, 2025
Galina Zhurkina, born in 1981, is an accomplished Russian artist renowned for her versatile talents spanning fine arts, design, and illustration. She graduated from the prestigious Stroganov Russian State University of Arts and Industry, where she studied under the esteemed teacher E.P. Kochetkov. Her academic training laid a solid foundation for a career characterized by both technical mastery and creative depth.
Following her studies, Galina worked as a lead artist and designer for several well-known jewelry companies, contributing to both exclusive and mass-produced collections. She also collaborated extensively with Russian and international publishing houses and magazines, further broadening her artistic reach.
Galina is an honorary member of the International Academy of Contemporary Arts (MASI) and a member of the Professional Union of Artists of Russia (PSHR). Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions in Russia and abroad, including multiple silver medals at the prestigious Art Excellence Award competitions focused on themes of self-realization and the soul’s journey.
A regular participant in the International Biennale of Illustrators held in Haifa, Israel, her art has been showcased at major exhibitions such as the World ART Dubai Exhibition and notable venues like Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor and the Art Maison Gallery. She has also held a personal exhibition at the Museum of Rear Admiral V.F. Rudnev in the Tula region.
Galina’s pieces are held in private collections across Germany, Russia, Israel, China, the USA, and beyond, reflecting her international appeal. Her work is distinguished by a refined balance between symbolic depth and contemporary aesthetics, often exploring themes related to space, ecology, and the spiritual self.
Over the years, Galina has also contributed as a jury member and expert in various international creative competitions and festivals, supporting young talents and fostering artistic growth.
Her extensive exhibition history includes participation in events such as the Chaos Constructions festival in St. Petersburg, the International Fair “Housing and Human Design” in Frankfurt, and multiple iterations of the Haifa Biennale of Illustration. Through her dynamic practice, Galina Zhurkina continues to illuminate the contemporary art scene with a unique voice that bridges tradition and innovation.
SELECTED ARTWORKS:
Mysterious Night, 2025. 80×100 cm, acrylic on canvas.