Tetiana Albitska

Tetiana Albitska (b. 1981, Kharkiv) is one of Ukraine’s leading contemporary sculptors. A graduate of the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts, where several Sonya artists honed their crafts,  Albitska’s supple stoneworks of women explore motherhood and the physicality of a diverse range of bodies. In recent years, her practice has focused more specifically on unconventional beauty, creating gorgeous works of women who do not fit typical beauty standards. Albitska relishes in a reclamation of the female subject, bringing forth the unexpected and exuding an air of freedom and experimentation in her work.

Sonya: A Sunflower Network Project is proud to exhibit two brilliant summations of Albitska’s style and thematic focus: Ball Thrower and Pebble (both 2018). Each gently sculpted stonework highlights Albitska’s mastery of surface and material. Ball Thrower depicts a woman grounded in space, confident, patient and poised. One of her arms stretches out to grasp the titular ball, while the other drapes across her back, creating a certain dynamism. 

Pebble depicts a woman folded at the torso, grasping her toes - an extension of her body implying comfortability and a movement frozen in time. As is typical for Albitska, there is a happy marriage of smooth curves and sharp, striking details in the woman’s hair and toes. The work calls on the sculptures of Fernando Botero and the Venus of Willendorf, a celebration and beauty of the female form often neglected in art and media.