Doppelganger

Olena Kurzel is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian artist recognized for her exploration of self-identity, violence, loneliness, and mortality through her art practice.

Olena Kurzel is a Ukrainian artist, known for addressing profound themes like self-identity, violence, loneliness, and the human experience of mortality through her diverse artistic practices. Her work, showcased in exhibitions internationally, delves into the complexities of memory, existential fears, and the emotional landscapes of human life.

Olena Kurzel was born in 2000 in Pivdennoukraiinsk, Mykolaiv region, Ukraine.

From 2012 to 2019, she studied painting at the Taras Shevchenko State Art School in Kyiv. Later, in 2023, she graduated from the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture with a degree in easel painting.

She has participated in a wide range of exhibitions and projects, showcasing her artistic versatility and engagement with contemporary themes. Her recent works include "DIA Kinets" at Tsehla Gallery in Graz, Austria (2024), "MATTER MATTERS. Ukrainian Art Textile" at Ukrainian House in Kyiv, Ukraine (2024), and "Why Am I Here?" at SPLAV in Kyiv, Ukraine (2024). 

In 2023, she contributed to "What Does It Mean to Dream About Water?" at Asortymentna Kimnata in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, "Periphery of Peace" at DIM Gallery in Warsaw, Poland, and "Individual Variability" at the Modern Art Research Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

She also participated in the online project "When Storms Reveal Silence" with Gallery Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin, Germany, supported by the Eastern Partnership Program of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Other notable projects include "Merging the Versions: Unveiling Traces" in Vienna, Austria, "Between You and Us: Translation Attempt" in Chemnitz, Germany, and "Forms of Presence" at Mystetskyi Arsenal in Kyiv, Ukraine. Additional highlights include "What Can Be Lost, What Can Be Saved" at the "Near" Festival in Odesa, Ukraine, and "Stay", part of the NULLA Project, supported by Rhizom Gallery in Graz, Austria.

Currently, Olena Kurzel lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Kurzel's art spans painting, embroidery, sculpture, video, photography, and installation. It explores the concepts of forgetting, loneliness, self-identification, and the reconstruction of forgotten images.

Among Kurzel's original paintings are "Family Drama" (2021), "Self-Portrait in the Dark Room" (2021), "Under the Bridge" (2021), "Fantasy About What Happens in an Abandoned House" (2021), "Popping a Pimple" (2021), "Doppelganger" 1 and "Doppelganger" 2 and others.

All of Olena Kurzel's paintings for sale are available at auction on the UFDA website.  

Olena Kurzel's art explores themes such as self-identity, violence, and solitude, using painting and small sculptures to express her ideas. These motifs are ever-present, haunting the individual throughout their life. 

They become inseparable from one's existence, as people, driven by the fear of the unknown, are in a constant state of awaiting their own death, struggling with the dread of being forgotten and isolated, and attempting to escape from these inevitable truths.