What the F@ck Am I Looking At?, 2025

Nataliya Bagatskaya   New & remarkable Artists

Nataliya Bagatskaya (b. 1967 in Horodyshche, Ukraine; now based in Kyiv) is a distinguished Ukrainian contemporary artist and member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. She graduated in 1993 with a degree in clothing design from Kyiv National University of Technology and Design. She works primarily in acrylic, applying traditional oil painting techniques to achieve extremely detailed, hyperrealistic, photorealistic, and contemporary realism compositions within a metamodern framework.

Her thematic range includes portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and narrative scenes infused with pop culture, political references, iconic symbols, and visual irony. Bagatskaya’s creative approach melds technical craftsmanship with conceptual storytelling, creating visually powerful yet emotionally resonant artworks.

Her exhibition record exceeds 30 group shows and four solo exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad, including “A Little of Silence” (Kiev, 2017), “Wish You Were Here” (Lesya Ukrainka Museum, 2018), “The Night” (Zavalnyi Art Center, 2018), and “Live in Avatar” (Art‑Caffe Klub, 2022). Internationally, she participated in the 2019 Venice Biennale, art fairs in Toronto, and gallery projects in Italy, Switzerland, and Barcelona.

In 2021, she received the Grand Prix at the ProCheese Awards in Kyiv and was featured in prominent Ukrainian art platforms and exhibitions such as “365 Days After,” “Women in Art,” and “Hryvnia Art.” Her works are held in notable public collections, including the Museum of Outstanding Figures of Ukrainian Culture in Kyiv and the Korsak Museum of Modern Art in Lutsk, with additional acquisitions by private collectors across Europe and Asia.

Bagatskaya combines her background in fashion design with an exacting painting process involving over 100 preparatory photographs and multiple draft versions, sometimes up to six iterations per work. She dedicates up to 11 hours daily in her studio, striving to elevate acrylic painting to photographic realism that delivers a powerful “wow” factor. Her art challenges the boundary between human perception and imagery, using acrylic as a visual language.