DINA VOLKOVA
DINA VOLKOVA
is an American artist, born and raised in Moscow.
Dina Volkova is an American artist, born and raised in Moscow.
She graduated from the Art and Graphic Faculty of the Moscow Pedagogical University.
After graduation, she taught ceramics and worked as an artist for Moscow publishing houses. The publishing house “Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo” (“Fine Art”) released millions of greeting cards featuring her compositions.
At the same time, she painted watercolors and participated in exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists. Much later, upon finding her biological father, Dina was astonished to discover that he also painted watercolors with the same subjects as she did. This coincidence served as confirmation of her chosen path, in which painting became a way of communicating with time, memory, and herself ... read more
She graduated from the Art and Graphic Faculty of the Moscow Pedagogical University.
After graduation, she taught ceramics and worked as an artist for Moscow publishing houses. The publishing house “Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo” (“Fine Art”) released millions of greeting cards featuring her compositions.
At the same time, she painted watercolors and participated in exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists. Much later, upon finding her biological father, Dina was astonished to discover that he also painted watercolors with the same subjects as she did. This coincidence served as confirmation of her chosen path, in which painting became a way of communicating with time, memory, and herself ... read more
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BIO
Dina Volkova is an American artist, born and raised in Moscow.
She graduated from the Art and Graphic Faculty of the Moscow Pedagogical University.
After graduation, she taught ceramics and worked as an artist for Moscow publishing houses. The publishing house “Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo” (“Fine Art”) released millions of greeting cards featuring her compositions.
At the same time, she painted watercolors and participated in exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists. Much later, upon finding her biological father, Dina was astonished to discover that he also painted watercolors with the same subjects as she did. This coincidence served as confirmation of her chosen path, in which painting became a way of communicating with time, memory, and herself.
In the early 1990s, the artist moved to the United States with almost no support — without knowing the language, without resources, and without a clear plan. This experience, full of ruptures, coincidences, and searching, gradually became the very "material" from which her unique painterly voice was born — warm, ironic, and attentive to the unseen.
In America, Dina participated in exhibitions of the Baltimore Watercolor Society and was a member of the Touchstone Gallery cooperative in Washington, D.C., where she held two solo exhibitions.
Later, the artist shifted to an online format: her works are presented on Saatchi Art and ArtFinder, and are held in private collections in various countries.
Dina Volkova is an American artist, born and raised in Moscow.
She graduated from the Art and Graphic Faculty of the Moscow Pedagogical University.
After graduation, she taught ceramics and worked as an artist for Moscow publishing houses. The publishing house “Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo” (“Fine Art”) released millions of greeting cards featuring her compositions.
At the same time, she painted watercolors and participated in exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists. Much later, upon finding her biological father, Dina was astonished to discover that he also painted watercolors with the same subjects as she did. This coincidence served as confirmation of her chosen path, in which painting became a way of communicating with time, memory, and herself.
In the early 1990s, the artist moved to the United States with almost no support — without knowing the language, without resources, and without a clear plan. This experience, full of ruptures, coincidences, and searching, gradually became the very "material" from which her unique painterly voice was born — warm, ironic, and attentive to the unseen.
In America, Dina participated in exhibitions of the Baltimore Watercolor Society and was a member of the Touchstone Gallery cooperative in Washington, D.C., where she held two solo exhibitions.
Later, the artist shifted to an online format: her works are presented on Saatchi Art and ArtFinder, and are held in private collections in various countries.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My artworks are а way of harmonizing space — both external and internal. It is a gesture of bringing order through color, line, and tone.
My ultimate goal is to make space more harmonious, For no particular reason. Just because I can.
The Beginning
My paintings are born from quick, spontaneous sketches made with а ballpoint pen. There is no intrinsic plan within them, just movement.
The lines аre formed before аn idea is creаted, like reflections of subconscious imаges аnd the rhythm of feelings. Gradually from chаos, structure is born. Thаt’s how mаps of inner landscapes are creаted.
On the Nature of Light
I often ponder the question: is it possible to unite the abstract and the realistic in a single painterly gesture?
The answer is light. It is my central theme.
Light is the boundary between what is seen and the elusive. It is something infra-subtle, like in Marcel Duchamp painting. What is born on the canvas first arises within — as a desire, as an impulse, as a quiet light that has not yet taken shape.
On Artistic Lineage
I feel a deep connection to artists for whom light is an event: Turner, Vermeer, Velázquez, Bonnard. Among contemporaries — Irwin and Corneli, who work with the architecture of perception.
But my path is painting. I seek to capture that same fleeting effect of living light — with a brushstroke, a patch of color, a glint.
On meaning
I don’t divide art into “elevated” and “applied” — it’s all one gesture: a touch of light. My painting is a way of being, a way to attune myself to the world.
I love beginnings: the white sheet, the first touch — like the anticipation of a journey.
My artworks are а way of harmonizing space — both external and internal. It is a gesture of bringing order through color, line, and tone.
My ultimate goal is to make space more harmonious, For no particular reason. Just because I can.
The Beginning
My paintings are born from quick, spontaneous sketches made with а ballpoint pen. There is no intrinsic plan within them, just movement.
The lines аre formed before аn idea is creаted, like reflections of subconscious imаges аnd the rhythm of feelings. Gradually from chаos, structure is born. Thаt’s how mаps of inner landscapes are creаted.
On the Nature of Light
I often ponder the question: is it possible to unite the abstract and the realistic in a single painterly gesture?
The answer is light. It is my central theme.
Light is the boundary between what is seen and the elusive. It is something infra-subtle, like in Marcel Duchamp painting. What is born on the canvas first arises within — as a desire, as an impulse, as a quiet light that has not yet taken shape.
On Artistic Lineage
I feel a deep connection to artists for whom light is an event: Turner, Vermeer, Velázquez, Bonnard. Among contemporaries — Irwin and Corneli, who work with the architecture of perception.
But my path is painting. I seek to capture that same fleeting effect of living light — with a brushstroke, a patch of color, a glint.
On meaning
I don’t divide art into “elevated” and “applied” — it’s all one gesture: a touch of light. My painting is a way of being, a way to attune myself to the world.
I love beginnings: the white sheet, the first touch — like the anticipation of a journey.
CV
Group Exhibitions
2026 - 16th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: “Belonging”, Washington DC
2025- International Group Exhibition “Kaleidoscope: Small Worlds”, Santa Fe USA
2007–2014 – Monthly exhibitions, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2004–2006 – Group exhibitions, Strathmore Hall Arts Center, North Bethesda, MD, USA
2000–2005 – Group exhibitions, Baltimore Watercolor Society, Baltimore, MD, USA
1985–1992 – City and All-Union exhibitions organized by the Union of Artists, Moscow, Russia
Solo Exhibitions
2012 – Last Two Years, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2009 – Various Realities, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
Education
2024 – Printmaking Course
Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, USA
1981 – Master’s Degree in Art Education
Department of Art and Graphic Design, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia
Work Experience
1982–1996 – Freelance Illustrator and Artist
Worked with various Moscow publishing houses: book illustration, cover design, drawings, and greeting cards
1981–1983 – Ceramics Instructor
Palace of Schoolchildren, Moscow, Russia
Group Exhibitions
2026 - 16th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: “Belonging”, Washington DC
2025- International Group Exhibition “Kaleidoscope: Small Worlds”, Santa Fe USA
2007–2014 – Monthly exhibitions, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2004–2006 – Group exhibitions, Strathmore Hall Arts Center, North Bethesda, MD, USA
2000–2005 – Group exhibitions, Baltimore Watercolor Society, Baltimore, MD, USA
1985–1992 – City and All-Union exhibitions organized by the Union of Artists, Moscow, Russia
Solo Exhibitions
2012 – Last Two Years, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2009 – Various Realities, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
Education
2024 – Printmaking Course
Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, USA
1981 – Master’s Degree in Art Education
Department of Art and Graphic Design, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia
Work Experience
1982–1996 – Freelance Illustrator and Artist
Worked with various Moscow publishing houses: book illustration, cover design, drawings, and greeting cards
1981–1983 – Ceramics Instructor
Palace of Schoolchildren, Moscow, Russia