Artist Statement
My practice is grounded in the interconnectedness of the natural world, drawing equally from my Ukrainian heritage and the California landscape surrounding my studio. These two points of origin inform not only my imagery but my understanding of nature as a living archive of memory, resilience, and care.
My primary medium is oil and acrylic paint, often used in combination with organic matter and repurposed objects. Among my tools are plants harvested from my own garden: stems, petals, and leaves that leave direct impressions on the canvas. Working this way gives my practice a ritualistic quality and ties it to the rhythm of the seasons.
Vibrant color and dense floral motifs are central to my visual language. I am drawn in particular to California wildflowers, which possess a remarkable capacity to flourish after disruption. I return to them as symbols of perseverance and as a way of examining themes of healing, restoration, and the passage of time. My Ukrainian heritage carries a deep traditional reverence for the natural world, and I bring that sensibility to how I engage with material, memory, and the emotional life of color. Through my work, I hope to cultivate a sense of collective peace and a deeper care for body, mind, and the environment that sustains us.
Biography
(b. 1995, Russia; lives and works in Monterey & Los Angeles, CA, US)
Kate Tova is a Russian-Ukrainian artist born in Russia, currently living and working in California, USA. Tova is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans painting, mixed media, and site-responsive work that’s rooted in a deep engagement with the natural world.
Kate Tova’s art explores the psychological dimensions of the human experience, examining the intrinsic connection between interiority and the natural environment. She works across a range of materials and processes, at times applying paint directly with plants from her garden, allowing organic forms to become both subject and instrument. Through vibrant color and tactile texture, her work bridges internal emotional states and the external world, advocating for the care of the body, the mind, and the planet.
A recent focus of Tova's work centers on the landscape as a sanctuary and mirror for human awakening and connection. In major projects such as her museum exhibition A Place to Rest (My Tired Mind), she draws a powerful parallel between California flora regenerating after wildfires and the human experience of recovering from burnout, finding a shared capacity for renewal. Wildflowers recur throughout her work as enduring symbols of hope and resilience.
Tova completed an artist residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and her work has been exhibited at the Oceanside Museum of Art, the Monterey Museum of Art, and other international spaces and institutions. She has been featured as a spotlight artist in a Cadillac campaign, and her work has appeared on the covers of San Francisco Magazine and ArtScene Magazine.
CV
Residencies:
SVA New York City, July 8 - August 8, 2024
Exhibitions:
Solo
2026 Oceanside Museum of Art, “A Place to Rest (My Tired Mind")”, Oceanside, CA, USA
2024 SVA NYC, “Polluted Pleasures”, New York City, NY, USA
2024 SCIC, “Wild Glitches”, San Francisco, CA, USA
2024 Shack 15, “Transformation”, San Francisco, CA, USA
2023 Adeeni Galerie, “Glitches”, San Francisco, CA, USA
2023 475 Sansome, “Unbound”, San Francisco, CA, USA
2021 765 Beach, “Maskerade”, San Francisco, CA, USA
2019 Canal Place, “Krewe Des Femmes”, New Orleans, LA, USA
2013 Shelk Gallery, “New School of Art”, Moscow, Russia
2013 First Moscow Educational Complex, “Identity”, Moscow, Russia
2010 City Exhibition Hall, “Spring Mood”, Balakovo, Russia
Group
2026 Untitled Space, “In Full Bloom”, New York City, NY
2025 Maude Kerns Art Center, "Inheritance: Women's Stories", Eugene, OR
2025 Studio 5 Contemporary, “Abstracted Figures”, San Rafael, CA
2024 Vita Brevis Gallery, “Grand Opening Show”, San Francisco, CA
2024 Gallery of Hermosa, “May Flowers”, Los Angeles, CA
2024 PACE Center, “Remake, Reuse, Recycle”, Denver, CO
2024 Oceanside Museum of Art, “More Disruption”, Oceanside, CA
2023 Fluo White Gallery, “Edgy”, Dubai, UAE
2022 Palette Gallery, “Palette Cleanser”, San Francisco, CA
2021 111 Minna, “Discolandia”, San Francisco, CA
2019 SOMArts, “ArtLaunch”, San Francisco, CA
2018 R. W. Norton Art Gallery, “BLOOM!”, Shreveport, LA, USA
2017 Louisiana State Archives Gallery, “48th Annual River Road Show”, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
2016 Isaac Delgado Fine Arts Gallery, “Spring Exhibition”, New Orleans, USA
2014 ARTPLAY Gallery, “Time For ART. Part 2”, Moscow, Russia
2014 Culture Center of the Jewish Museum, “World ORT”, Prague, Czech Republic
2013 West Park Art Gallery, “New York Realism”, New York, USA
2013 KPB, “Berlin Art Week”, Berlin, Germany
Awards:
2017 Denice Cyrex Ducote Memorial Award, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
2013 Second place in the international competition "Art Week in Berlin", Germany
2007 First place in the international competition “Open Europe”, Austria
Education:
Academy of Art
Balakovo, Russia
2005 – 2010
Selected press / collaborations:
2024 Haute Living “Artistic Angles”, March/April 2024
2024 ArtScene Magazine – Cover + article on p.112-135
2023 Cadillac Video Commercial
2022 CBS “American Dream” TV show
2021 San Francisco Magazine – Art Issue - Cover + p.58-59 (Dec 2021-Jan 2022)
2021 The San Franciscan – p.52-53 (Issue #53)
2021 Moncler Mother’s Day Collaboration
2013 EUPHORIA Magazine – Publication (February 2013)
2012 Yoga Journal – Illustration (#47)
2011 Krug Newspaper “To the Peak of Inspiration” (#225)
2010 Bumblebee Newspaper “Look Into My Eyes” (#195)