NELYA AKIMOVA
NELYA AKIMOVA
an artist and photographer based in the Czech Republic, combines oil painting and digital art..
Nelya Akimova (NELYA-NAKI) is an artist and photographer who creates oil paintings on canvas as well as digital art photography and collages.
The main focus of the artist’s research is the pursuit of understanding the illusory nature of our reality and offering the viewer a different way of perceiving the world – "Welcome to the game on Earth!" ... read more
The main focus of the artist’s research is the pursuit of understanding the illusory nature of our reality and offering the viewer a different way of perceiving the world – "Welcome to the game on Earth!" ... read more
More artworks
BIO
Nelya Akimova (NELYA-NAKI) is an artist and photographer who creates oil paintings on canvas as well as digital art photography and collages.
The main focus of the artist’s research is the pursuit of understanding the illusory nature of our reality and offering the viewer a different way of perceiving the world – "Welcome to the game on Earth!"
In her oil paintings, her images resemble the purity of snow-covered landscapes, which exist in contrast to the dominant presence of modern concrete architecture. By applying oil to the surface of her canvases, Akimova can create compositions that convey a severity reminiscent of concrete.
Akimova works intuitively, applying paint to the canvas without a preconceived notion of how the composition will develop; figures emerge from white expanses of paint, forming an elegant simplicity through the use of a minimalist palette and a strong contrast between light and darkness.
Before fully dedicating herself to art, Akimova had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. However, she felt called to live beyond the stability and predictability to which she had grown accustomed. Moving to Prague in 2018 marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life, where she began working on her new collection of paintings.
NELYA-NAKI also creates art from digital photography. At times, she feels as though she is predicting the future. When she enters the workspace of her digital programs, photographs bend, twist, and stretch as if life itself is passing through them, breathing an idea into existence. At that moment, she begins to see an image taking shape. It may appear joyful, sorrowful, or mysteriously smiling—depending on the sensations she perceives in the space around her. Creating digital images allows her to rethink and express her search for and acceptance of her own sub-personalities. Who am I? Who are we?
Despite her relatively recent entry into the art world, Akimova’s work has been exhibited internationally, with shows in the USA, Italy, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece. A defining moment came in October 2023 when her art was featured at London’s iconic Saatchi Gallery during the Focus Art Fair. In 2024, her solo exhibition at a central gallery in Prague marked another milestone, further advancing her artistic journey. That same year, she participated in the prestigious "Personal Structure" exhibition parallels the Venice Art Biennale.
Akimova’s education in art has been equally transformative. She studied at the Art Communications School, SCE Institute of the Mediterranean Culture, in Athens, Greece, in 2022 and completed a course at M&C Saatchi Open House in 2023. In 2024, she further deepened her expertise with the course "What is Contemporary Art and Curating?" by Prof. Dr. Dorothee Richter at the On Curating Academy in Berlin and the "Fine Art Portrait" program at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography. These experiences have not only refined her skills but also ignited her passion to create art that resonates deeply with her audience.
Nelya Akimova (NELYA-NAKI) is an artist and photographer who creates oil paintings on canvas as well as digital art photography and collages.
The main focus of the artist’s research is the pursuit of understanding the illusory nature of our reality and offering the viewer a different way of perceiving the world – "Welcome to the game on Earth!"
In her oil paintings, her images resemble the purity of snow-covered landscapes, which exist in contrast to the dominant presence of modern concrete architecture. By applying oil to the surface of her canvases, Akimova can create compositions that convey a severity reminiscent of concrete.
Akimova works intuitively, applying paint to the canvas without a preconceived notion of how the composition will develop; figures emerge from white expanses of paint, forming an elegant simplicity through the use of a minimalist palette and a strong contrast between light and darkness.
Before fully dedicating herself to art, Akimova had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. However, she felt called to live beyond the stability and predictability to which she had grown accustomed. Moving to Prague in 2018 marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life, where she began working on her new collection of paintings.
NELYA-NAKI also creates art from digital photography. At times, she feels as though she is predicting the future. When she enters the workspace of her digital programs, photographs bend, twist, and stretch as if life itself is passing through them, breathing an idea into existence. At that moment, she begins to see an image taking shape. It may appear joyful, sorrowful, or mysteriously smiling—depending on the sensations she perceives in the space around her. Creating digital images allows her to rethink and express her search for and acceptance of her own sub-personalities. Who am I? Who are we?
Despite her relatively recent entry into the art world, Akimova’s work has been exhibited internationally, with shows in the USA, Italy, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece. A defining moment came in October 2023 when her art was featured at London’s iconic Saatchi Gallery during the Focus Art Fair. In 2024, her solo exhibition at a central gallery in Prague marked another milestone, further advancing her artistic journey. That same year, she participated in the prestigious "Personal Structure" exhibition parallels the Venice Art Biennale.
Akimova’s education in art has been equally transformative. She studied at the Art Communications School, SCE Institute of the Mediterranean Culture, in Athens, Greece, in 2022 and completed a course at M&C Saatchi Open House in 2023. In 2024, she further deepened her expertise with the course "What is Contemporary Art and Curating?" by Prof. Dr. Dorothee Richter at the On Curating Academy in Berlin and the "Fine Art Portrait" program at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography. These experiences have not only refined her skills but also ignited her passion to create art that resonates deeply with her audience.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
"Welcome to the Game ON EARTH!“
What if it's true that our whole life on Earth is a big GAME, and we are all just AVATARS? And we can choose our destiny for the next 100 years.
I have already played this game many times. But each time I remembered the rules of the game only when the game was over.
And now, I arranged everything perfectly, chose my parents, and agreed with their souls how they would educate me, how they would pass on the rules of the game to me, which, as it turned out later, they themselves did not remember.
Finally, I was born. And I forgot everything again for the first 50 years. But it seems that this time the secret is revealed, I began to see clearly.
----------------------------
I believe that our life on Earth is a big game.
Coming here we lose our memory and stop hearing our inner voice. And only a strange longing in the chest reminds us of our divine origin.
And the one who manages to remember his humanity and connect the soul and mind is the winner of the game.
The purpose of my art is to draw the viewer's attention to his inner voice, and inner light, to trust him and understand the intention of the soul that once chose this incarnation and this fate. And so break free.
I'm talking about a different way of perceiving our world and aiming to provoke reflection on our choice of whether to enter the infinite cycle again or learn to listen to ourselves.
Sometimes, my paintings are consonant with Picasso's "Guernica", but the world on my canvases does not collapse, but changes, the shades of concrete bring the beauty of creation, the construction of a new world. So purity, undisguised honesty, and strong reliability of the material are combined with the possibility of embodying the most daring and flying ideas of architects.
I use the oil technique, which allows me to work intuitively. Paint applied to the canvas without a preconceived idea symbolizes the uncertainty of life.
I believe that having gone through wars, the destruction of existing systems, and dictatorships, humanity will come to a new era of Goodness, Acceptance, and Freedom. And while the world is on the verge of great changes, we all inevitably feel this Zeitgeist.
Metamodernism perfectly conveys this unity of disturbing reality and the beautiful virtual world and makes it possible to create the Game in the language of art and invite the viewer into it. Here you can make mistakes and not be lost, there is free will, and it is not suppressed, but supported and accepted by society.
"Welcome to the Game ON EARTH!“
What if it's true that our whole life on Earth is a big GAME, and we are all just AVATARS? And we can choose our destiny for the next 100 years.
I have already played this game many times. But each time I remembered the rules of the game only when the game was over.
And now, I arranged everything perfectly, chose my parents, and agreed with their souls how they would educate me, how they would pass on the rules of the game to me, which, as it turned out later, they themselves did not remember.
Finally, I was born. And I forgot everything again for the first 50 years. But it seems that this time the secret is revealed, I began to see clearly.
----------------------------
I believe that our life on Earth is a big game.
Coming here we lose our memory and stop hearing our inner voice. And only a strange longing in the chest reminds us of our divine origin.
And the one who manages to remember his humanity and connect the soul and mind is the winner of the game.
The purpose of my art is to draw the viewer's attention to his inner voice, and inner light, to trust him and understand the intention of the soul that once chose this incarnation and this fate. And so break free.
I'm talking about a different way of perceiving our world and aiming to provoke reflection on our choice of whether to enter the infinite cycle again or learn to listen to ourselves.
Sometimes, my paintings are consonant with Picasso's "Guernica", but the world on my canvases does not collapse, but changes, the shades of concrete bring the beauty of creation, the construction of a new world. So purity, undisguised honesty, and strong reliability of the material are combined with the possibility of embodying the most daring and flying ideas of architects.
I use the oil technique, which allows me to work intuitively. Paint applied to the canvas without a preconceived idea symbolizes the uncertainty of life.
I believe that having gone through wars, the destruction of existing systems, and dictatorships, humanity will come to a new era of Goodness, Acceptance, and Freedom. And while the world is on the verge of great changes, we all inevitably feel this Zeitgeist.
Metamodernism perfectly conveys this unity of disturbing reality and the beautiful virtual world and makes it possible to create the Game in the language of art and invite the viewer into it. Here you can make mistakes and not be lost, there is free will, and it is not suppressed, but supported and accepted by society.
CV
2024 ART Expo Trieste, Italy, group exhibition, powered by AAMI corporation
2024 Art Biennale, group exhibition (Personal Structures / Lucid Dreams), by the European Cultural Centre and Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, from April 20 to November 24, 2024, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy
2024 Ljubljana Forum 2024, group exhibition, powered by AAMI corporation
2024 Group exhibition “Different but equal”, Pisa Social Art Festival, Pisa, Italy
2024 Group exhibition “Private Property”, Roots Gallery, Pisa, Italy
2024 Group exhibition Inspire Fest, Astana Hub, Kazakhstan
2024 Solo exhibition Karpuchina Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2023 Group exhibition SHIM Social Justice at Aqua Art Miami in Miami Art Week 2023, Miami, USA
2023 Group exhibition Art Number 23 Gallery, Athens, Greece
2023 Group exhibition Art Fair FOCUS at Saatchi Gallery, by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, London, GB
2023 Group exhibition Art Number 23 Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 Group exhibition Slovanský Dům in Prague powered by AAMI corporation, Czech Republic
2022 Group exhibition Art Fair Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France
2019-20 Four group online exhibitions in the gallery, 530 W 25th St, New York, USA.
2019 Group exhibition "Little Treasures" Trevisan International Art, Bologna, Italy
Awards in art competitions:
2019 -20 Invited Jury at Gateway International Painting Competition, USA.
2019 2nd prize, Gateway International Painting Competition, USA.
Art education:
2024 Course “What is Contemporary Art and Curating?” Prof. Dr. Dorothee Richter, On Curating Academy Berlin
2024 Course "Fine Art Portrait" at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography
2023 Course at M&C Saatchi Open House.
2022 Art Communications School, SCE Institute of the Mediterranean Culture, Athens, Greece.
Publications:
2024 "101 Contemporary Artists and More..." book from Collect Art Work Magazine, volume 6, https://www.scribd.com/document/744200908/101-contemporary-artists-and-more (page 140)
2024 Aesthetica Magazine, Artists' Directory for the June / July 2024 issue (Issue 119)
2024 Collect Art Work Magazine, Spring Issue https://www.scribd.com/document/728103116/Spring-Issue?language_settings_changed=English
2024 catalogues of the exhibition Personal Structures by the European Cultural Centre / Lucid Dreams by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, Venice, Italy
2023 Artist Talk Magazine https://www.artisttalkmagazine.com/issue-28
2023 catalogue of the exhibition Art Fair FOCUS at Saatchi Gallery, by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, London, GB
https://view.publitas.com/gabriel-fine-arts/focus-catalogue/
2023 Digest «Art Environment» of the Artists Club https://artclub-js.com/nelya-akimova-digital-images
2023 catalogue of the exhibition in ART NUMBER 23 Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 catalogue of the exhibition in Slovanský Dům, Czech Republic
2022 catalogue of the exhibition Modern Art Masters in Complex du Louvre, Paris, France
2019 catalogue of the exhibition "Little Treasures" Trevisan International Art, Bologna, Italy
2019 World Wide Art Magazine https://wwab.us/wwa-magazine-3/
Memberships:
2022-25, Membership at the International Art Club by Julia Sysalova (HQ Greece)
2024-25, Membership at the Club at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography
2023-25, Membership at the Salvador Club of Artists by AAMI Corporation (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
2024 ART Expo Trieste, Italy, group exhibition, powered by AAMI corporation
2024 Art Biennale, group exhibition (Personal Structures / Lucid Dreams), by the European Cultural Centre and Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, from April 20 to November 24, 2024, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy
2024 Ljubljana Forum 2024, group exhibition, powered by AAMI corporation
2024 Group exhibition “Different but equal”, Pisa Social Art Festival, Pisa, Italy
2024 Group exhibition “Private Property”, Roots Gallery, Pisa, Italy
2024 Group exhibition Inspire Fest, Astana Hub, Kazakhstan
2024 Solo exhibition Karpuchina Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2023 Group exhibition SHIM Social Justice at Aqua Art Miami in Miami Art Week 2023, Miami, USA
2023 Group exhibition Art Number 23 Gallery, Athens, Greece
2023 Group exhibition Art Fair FOCUS at Saatchi Gallery, by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, London, GB
2023 Group exhibition Art Number 23 Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 Group exhibition Slovanský Dům in Prague powered by AAMI corporation, Czech Republic
2022 Group exhibition Art Fair Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France
2019-20 Four group online exhibitions in the gallery, 530 W 25th St, New York, USA.
2019 Group exhibition "Little Treasures" Trevisan International Art, Bologna, Italy
Awards in art competitions:
2019 -20 Invited Jury at Gateway International Painting Competition, USA.
2019 2nd prize, Gateway International Painting Competition, USA.
Art education:
2024 Course “What is Contemporary Art and Curating?” Prof. Dr. Dorothee Richter, On Curating Academy Berlin
2024 Course "Fine Art Portrait" at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography
2023 Course at M&C Saatchi Open House.
2022 Art Communications School, SCE Institute of the Mediterranean Culture, Athens, Greece.
Publications:
2024 "101 Contemporary Artists and More..." book from Collect Art Work Magazine, volume 6, https://www.scribd.com/document/744200908/101-contemporary-artists-and-more (page 140)
2024 Aesthetica Magazine, Artists' Directory for the June / July 2024 issue (Issue 119)
2024 Collect Art Work Magazine, Spring Issue https://www.scribd.com/document/728103116/Spring-Issue?language_settings_changed=English
2024 catalogues of the exhibition Personal Structures by the European Cultural Centre / Lucid Dreams by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, Venice, Italy
2023 Artist Talk Magazine https://www.artisttalkmagazine.com/issue-28
2023 catalogue of the exhibition Art Fair FOCUS at Saatchi Gallery, by Gabriele Fine Arts Gallery, London, GB
https://view.publitas.com/gabriel-fine-arts/focus-catalogue/
2023 Digest «Art Environment» of the Artists Club https://artclub-js.com/nelya-akimova-digital-images
2023 catalogue of the exhibition in ART NUMBER 23 Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 catalogue of the exhibition in Slovanský Dům, Czech Republic
2022 catalogue of the exhibition Modern Art Masters in Complex du Louvre, Paris, France
2019 catalogue of the exhibition "Little Treasures" Trevisan International Art, Bologna, Italy
2019 World Wide Art Magazine https://wwab.us/wwa-magazine-3/
Memberships:
2022-25, Membership at the International Art Club by Julia Sysalova (HQ Greece)
2024-25, Membership at the Club at Anna Krauklis School of Contemporary Photography
2023-25, Membership at the Salvador Club of Artists by AAMI Corporation (Ljubljana, Slovenia)