Valentinaki

Born in Riga in 1985, Valentina Kovalishina, known as Valentinaki, is an artist that is constantly evolving. Initially, Valentinaki experiments with watercolours, and then studies the use of pastels under the Latvian painter Valeria Shuvalova. In 2009, after moving to Italy, she learns the art of oil painting under Giusy Boncimelli, a Florentine figurative oil painting artist. From her, Valentinaki inherits the expressive freedom in painting that in turn gives her the courage needed to believe in her own potential. From this moment on, Valentinaki chooses the profession and career of being an artist. She steps away from figurative form learned under Boncimelli and follows her own path towards abstract painting that is characterized by the presence of easily recognizable natural forms above all that of the oyster shell. This is the main subject in most of Valentinaki’s creations with the oyster playing the conceptual role of imperfect perfection, an element as unique in the plane of phenomenal reality, as it is tangible. This revelation inspires the artist to shape her material compositions in a natural and harmonious way given that one of the main features of Valentinaki’s work is her quest to maintain balance and consistency between poetic and aesthetic taste through the observation of matter in all its simplicity and a deep respect for the three-dimensional order of reality. Her current artistic style is based on abstractionism aimed at celebrating the most tangible elements of our planet: nature, the sea and water that are observed for a long time and then echoed in her works, at times of considerable size. Valentinaki has taken part in many projects in Italy and abroad, both in public and private venues. Among them, the site-specific installations set up in historical locations such as the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dei Miracoli at San Celso (Milan), the Vicevano Castle (Vigevano, PV), the Castel dell’Ovo (Naples) and the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio (Milan).