By Anastasia Lopoukhine

Fly by/ 2023. Collage of white and black paper. 37inch x 37inch

Beguiling. 2024. Pen and ink on paper. 60inch x 40inch.

The Importance of Arts, Culture & The Creative Process
The arts and the creative process are important because they allow us to explore identity, express emotions, and reflect on the complexities of the world around us. They provide a space for personal growth and collective understanding, fostering dialogue across cultures and generations. One way this project could expand is by focusing more on how the price and cost of art reflect our society. Artworks are innately luxurious due to their uniqueness and intensity, yet artists are not always viewed with the same rigor as actors, musicians, or even fashion designers.

What was the inspiration for your creative work?
Once, long ago, I asked a taxi driver to tell me the worst thing about his job. I expected him to complain about the long hours or mechanical problems. Waiting to stop at a red light before answering, he said, ’The worst thing about my job is that I never hear the end of the story. People enter my taxi halfway through their conversation and leave without finishing it.’ I often think about that taxi driver and how the fragments of a story inspired me the most. I want my work to feel open-ended, like a snapshot of a much bigger tale, a springboard for one’s imagination to go on an unexpected ride.
​
​​I start each drawing by inventing a story. Long or short or even incomplete, I must have a narrative. Then, I draw the image and consider what textures and patterns I will use for each section. Once I feel that my composition has a compelling flow, I switch on an audiobook or podcast and try not to interfere with the instinctive movements of my hand. I know the drawing is working when I lose track of all time.
​
In my artwork, I want to convey how universally bizarre the world is. Humor is also an essential part of my practice. If people are laughing, they are much more likely to go down a visual journey that would make the viewer see the world through my eyes.

Anastasia Lopoukhine is an artist who lives and works in New York City. Her artistic journey is deeply rooted in her intricate use of mediums such as pen and ink, charcoal, and collage. Her process, filled with precision and intensity, reveals expressive, often humorous narratives stemming from personal memories and historical references. The playful and surreal characters from her childhood that populate her work seem to capture the eccentricities of everyday life.
Her background in etching, where each line is final and permanent, adds a layer of commitment to her drawings, symbolizing how life’s imperfections can be embraced rather than erased. This reflects her philosophy of letting mistakes inform the creative process.
Since graduating from the New York Academy of Art in 2021, Lopoukhine has made a name for herself internationally, participating in auctions in major cities like London, Paris, and New York. Her exhibitions with notable galleries such as Canopy Collections in London, Transatlantic Gallery in Paris, and Café Privé in New York have established her presence in the contemporary art scene. Her works are also included in private collections across the UK, USA, France, and Italy, indicating her growing influence.

The Creative Process is created with kind support from the Jan Michalski Foundation.