artist bio
Irina Koukhanova studied sculpture and ceramics in Russia and the United States. Throughout her career, she has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. Her devotion to using a wide range of sculptural materials emphasizing their inherited symbolism has developed into a body of work bridging installation art and object making.
In response to the shock of Russia’s attack on Ukraine — an assault carried out by her country of origin — Koukhanova returned to her ceramic roots.
Her recent work reinterprets traditional folk forms, merging historical metaphors with contemporary narratives shaped by diasporic cultural memory.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is influenced by personal, ancestral, multi-generational journey from Kyiv to Moscow to Cleveland, Ohio. As an American immigrant, I am compelled to look into the past in order to deconstruct the present in search of common denominators. My work spans the history of sculptural media, from bronze to metal and wood, while ceramics, printmaking, and drawing have remained constant threads. I’m interested in the expanded field of ceramics, interdisciplinary, multivalent, and resonate with the global practice—a form of craft that engages international material language. My current creative focus is shaped by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its assault on cultural heritage and national identity. As a result of this ongoing attack, there is an upsurge in the importance of folk art as a voice of defiance and resistance. My current ceramic series integrate its forms and traditions into contemporary sculptural practice.