Second interview through images by Andriy Sheptunov
Today’s article is dedicated to the artist HolyKateryna. Born in Odessa, she now lives and works in Barcelona. We define her style as neorealism — an approach that brings art back to its main mission: to reflect life honestly. But before introducing the artist, let us recall what neorealism is.
Neorealism is not just an artistic movement, but a challenge to its time. It emerged in Italy in the mid-1940s as a response to destruction and crisis after the war. Artists and filmmakers no longer aimed to create illusory worlds — they sought to show life as it truly was: unembellished, raw, and without cuts.
Classic examples of Italian cinema from that period include Roberto Rossellini’s "Rome", Open City (1945) and Vittorio De Sica’s "Bicycle Thieves" (1948). These films were shot on the streets, with non-professional actors, simple dialogues — and precisely because of this, they became profoundly truthful. Their protagonists were ordinary people, whose lives had rarely been at the center of attention before. That was the source of their strength.
Neorealism also found its way into painting. Artists rejected idealization, choosing instead to capture weary faces, working-class neighbourhoods, rural landscapes. A painting became not decoration but a document of the moment. Art stepped beyond academic tradition and turned into a testimony of real human experience.
Today, looking at modern Ukraine, neorealism resonates with particular sharpness. In the context of war and social upheavals, honest art becomes a form of documentary memory and a dialogue with society. It is a tradition that reminds us: the true value of art lies in the courage to face reality.
Self-presentation by HolyKateryna
“I am from Odessa, a flourishing and wonderfully easy-going city in the south of Ukraine. Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming the color of red paint. The universe has given me the gift of revealing on canvas the hidden sides of fantastic life.
I see myself as a documentary artist of my imagined reality. My works anticipate the future, tell the stories of characters born within my inner worlds. I erase boundaries between genres and states of being, embrace chaos, and welcome the strange. For me, art is a portal from which the viewer emerges transformed.”
Our Interview Section
1. How did it all begin?
World creation, 99*50, Oil on canvas, 2024
2. How has the war influenced your perception and creativity?
Collage, 2022
3. What place does religion occupy in your life and work?
“Unity of opposites”, 32*41, Oil on canvas, 2025
4. How do you perceive the people around you?
Calm as dirt, 21*36, Oil on canvas, 2025
5. What do Odessa and Ukraine mean to you? How does your homeland appear in your art?
Odesa dream, 60*60, Oil on canvas, 2022.03
6. Eroticism often appears in your work. What does this concept mean to you?
Josephine, 72*54, Oil on canvas, 2025
Floration, 190*180, Oil on canvas
7. How do you feel ecstasy, and what brings it forth?
«harmony», 100*70, Oil on wood, 2023
8. How do you understand contemporary art?
French Eros, Collage
9. How do you experience yourself in time?
«doll», A4, oil on paper, 2023
We hope you enjoy our articles. We also remind you that you can explore HolyKateryna’s work more broadly through her social platforms.
