AR-Saastamoinen Grant Recipient at Saastamoinen Foundation Anastasiia Pustovarova

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Anastasiia Pustovarova at Venetsia Lapinlahti, Helsinki

Anastasiia Pustovarova (b. 1990) is a Ukrainian visual artist and illustrator, currently living in Helsinki, Finland.

She was born and raised in Cherkasy, the cultural center of Cherkasy Oblast and Central Economical Region of Ukraine. In 2017, she graduated from the The National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture in Kyiv, with a Master’s degree in Graphic arts and Illustration.

Pustavarova’s works have been subject to much acclaim. Early in her career, Pustovarova participated in the triennale of book illustration in Kyiv in 2015. The following year, she was part of the Illustration Biennale 2016 hosted by COW International Design Festival in Kyiv. Izbornichek (іЗБОРНіЧЕК), a dictionary collection of Ukrainian engravings designed by Pustovarova alongside Alina Komarova and Nikolay Stepanov, was among the Top 10 Winners in the Book Design category of the Biennale.

Apple Blossom in Time of War (2022), courtesy of the artist

Since 2017, her art has been featured in numerous collections in Ukraine, Germany, France, and Greece, and have been exhibited in Ukrainian and European exhibition spaces. In 2019, Pustavarova held her first individual exhibition, “A time to be born” (“час родитись”), in Dnipro. The exhibition featured artworks from her Solomon Series (2017). Most recently in 2022, Pustovarova participated in the “Piazza Ucraina” installation at the 59th Venice Arte Biennale as well as “The Wartime Art Archive” by MOCA NGO at The Naked Room in Kyiv.

Through her art, Pustavarova conveys different topics which highlight her personal experiences, exploring themes of sensuality, fear, and love in literature and historical contexts. The primary mediums utilized in her artworks are graphic printing techniques, paints, and photography.

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Anastasiia Pustovarova is an Artists at Risk (AR)-Saastamoinen Grant Recipient at Saastamoinen Foundation, after escaping Ukraine in May, 2022. AR-Saastamoinen Foundation Residency is funded by Saastamoinen Foundation and curated and hosted by Perpetuum Mobile / Artists at Risk (AR). She is supported by Ramiro Camelo, AR-Peer Curator during her residence in Helsinki.