Luxor Temple, 2021

Galina Lenskaya  

Galina Lenskaya is a visual artist and art educator whose practice centres on watercolor painting, architectural subjects, and the visual character of places. Born in Kaluga, Russia, in 1978, she began her artistic education at the city's children's art school, where she studied classical drawing. After moving to Hurghada, Egypt, in 2001, she eventually returned to art, undertaking further studies in academic drawing, watercolor, pastel, anatomy, and perspective at Kalacheva Art School.

Now based in Hurghada, Lenskaya works across a range of subjects, from historic architecture and ancient Egyptian monuments to Nile landscapes, waterscapes, urban environments, and still life. Her ongoing series, including Medieval Cairo Today, Monuments of Ancient Egypt, and Nile River, reflect a sustained interest in architecture as a visual record of place and in the distinctive qualities that separate one environment from another.

Watercolor is central to her practice. Its capacity to register subtle changes in light, tonal relationships, and the character of a surface makes it particularly suited to her interest in architectural detail and the atmosphere of a scene. Her classical training in drawing provides a structural foundation for this exploration.

Lenskaya has exhibited in Russia and Egypt, including a solo exhibition in Kaluga in 2017, the Egypt International Art Salon in Hurghada and the Second Watercolor Art Salon at Matisse Art Center in 2020, as well as exhibitions at Nun Art Gallery in 2021 and 2022. Her work has also been featured in Egyptian media.

Alongside her studio practice, Lenskaya founded an art school in Hurghada, where she teaches classical academic drawing to young artists. Her dual role as artist and educator reflects a long-standing commitment to drawing as both a technical discipline and a way of understanding the visual world.