Alena Martsyanava

Alena Martsyanava Biography

Belarus, born 1983

Alena Martsyanava is an indie artist from Eastern Europe, born into an artistic family. She grew up surrounded by both beauty and ever lasting stress, a contrast that shaped her early years.
Her father - an artist and an architect, suffering from severe alcoholism nearly killed her and her mother, when Alena was only 3, which became the first serious psychological challenge, which later on was the reason why she never pursued an artistic career after finishing an art school at the age of 14. Yet, art is a bottom line in her life.

Her first commercial success came in Germany, where she painted portraits — ironically, something she once feared. It was a great background for the brewing mixture of brutality and tenderness, colored in black, red and white, which are still Alena’s favourite choice of colours.

But it was a visit to New York in 2012 that truly changed everything. The experience opened her eyes, fueling her inspiration and pushing her to take art more seriously.

Her first highly successful piece, the dramatic Tram, became the culmination of another tragic experience in her life, this time closely connected with her love life. The painting was replicated multiple times and sold in both the U.S. and Europe.

Alena’s life has been closely connected to people with special needs, both in her family and in institutions across her home country. Her desire to help (though not always possible) often turned into frustration, and that emotion found its way onto her canvases, transforming pain into art.
The experience of living at the crossroads of multiple worlds — regular and special needs, business and private life — has resulted in a powerful new collection of paintings that reveal the dark side of the artist’s broken heart.

Alena bravely translates the images from her day and night dreams onto canvas and invites viewers into a world of distorted reality and raw emotions. So welcome to the world of crooked reality and sharp emotions.