Elena Likhatskaya (LEV)

Figurative painter and printmaker
Princeton, New Jersey

I paint people where they gather — cafés, ice rinks, markets, courtyards, parks, the circus. Many small lives share one place. The space is flat, the color is full, the mood is warm. It is not satire. It is the thickness of an ordinary day.

Born 8 October 1975 in Yurga, Siberia. Raised and trained in Krasnoyarsk. Lives and works in Princeton, New Jersey, and travels for residencies and plein air.

Education

1991–1996 Krasnoyarsk Art College named after V.I. Surikov
1996–2002 Krasnoyarsk State Art Institute
2002–2005 Creative Workshops of Contemporary Art, KSAI (Prof. A.A. Pokrovsky)
2009–2012 Graphic Workshops of the Russian Academy of Arts, Krasnoyarsk (Prof. G.S. Pashtov, woodcut)

Selected honors

Member, Union of Russian Artists (2006)
Gold Medal, Russian Academy of Arts (2014)
Governor’s Prize of Krasnoyarsk Krai (2011)
Surikov Regional Prize (2007)

Selected solo exhibitions

2017 Two Worlds, Romanov Gallery, Krasnoyarsk
2018 Winter Fun, Cultural Center, Krasnoyarsk
2018 Lenotavr, Surikov Art Museum, Krasnoyarsk
2019 Russian Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.
2020 Art & Jazz, Russian Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.
2021 Reveries, La Porte Peinte, Noyers-sur-Serein, France
2023 Burgundy Arts Gallery, Ravières, France

Residencies and festivals

L’AiR Arts: Héricy, 2016; Paris, 2018
La Porte Peinte, Noyers-sur-Serein, 2019 and 2021
Schilderfestival, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 2025
Schilderfestival, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 2026

Also

Printmaking (woodcut, lithography) is a separate body of work on this site. Floral still lifes are shown on Etsy.

Instagram: @lev_paintings, @lev_graphicart
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/ElenaLikhatskaya