Biography
Yelena Lev-Navtikova is a multidisciplinary artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, originally from Minsk, Belarus, with formative years spent in the Netherlands. Holding an M.A. in Architecture and a B.A. in Painting, she creates layered, surreal dreamscapes where architectural structure meets poetic symbolism. Her work bridges surrealism and abstract expressionism, reflecting a deeply personal journey shaped by migration, memory, and cultural transition. Her paintings present dreamlike spaces where floating spheres, portals, and symbolic figures coexist within carefully constructed compositions. These elements function as metaphors for inner worlds, emotional states, and unseen connections between past and present. Recurring motifs—such as fish, representing souls in motion; spheres, as witnesses or contained universes; and arches and portals, as thresholds between realities—form a visual language that speaks to transformation, resilience, and spiritual passage. Working primarily in oil and acrylic, Lev-Navtikova combines traditional painterly techniques with contemporary textures, creating depth, movement, and atmospheric tension. Her architectural training informs the spatial balance and structure of her compositions, while her intuitive approach allows each work to unfold as a meditative exploration of the human experience. Lev-Navtikova has exhibited widely across the United States, including at Laguna Art-A-Fair, venues in San Diego, the Sasse Museum of Art, and the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, as well as internationally with Primo Piano LivinGallery in Lecce, Italy. She participated in the “Baroque Blue – Water Path” residency project in Salento, curated by art advisor and curator Dores Sacquegna. Her works—including Confession, Guardians of the Veil, Voyage, and The Revival—have been featured on ArtScreenTV and are presented in international exhibitions such as the Florence Biennale and Art Basel in Basel. She is an active member of the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA), the Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA), the Westlake Village Art Guild, the Cal Art League, and the Association of Artists of Belarus. Through her work, Yelena Lev-Navtikova invites viewers into contemplative, immersive environments where personal and collective narratives intertwine—encouraging reflection, emotional connection, and a sense of shared humanity beyond borders.
Artist Statement
My brush moves where vision softens and imagination takes flight. As a contemporary artist, I seek to distill the pulse of our time—translating the world’s shifting rhythms into visual language shaped by emotion, memory, and intuition. Working primarily in oil and acrylic, I build my surfaces through layered passages, where modern textures breathe new life into traditional mediums, allowing each painting to unfold slowly, like a lived experience. My practice moves between two complementary modes: abstract expressionism and surreal symbolism. In my abstract works, gesture and color become vessels of raw sensation—immediate, instinctive, and unfiltered—capturing moments that exist beyond narrative or form. In contrast, my surreal symbolic paintings emerge from an inner mythology, where figurative elements, recurring motifs, and dreamlike landscapes serve as metaphors for psychological and spiritual inquiry. These images invite contemplation, offering symbols not as answers, but as open thresholds. Across both styles, each painting becomes a refracted mirror of my inner lens. Reality is not merely observed, but transformed—reimagined through intuition and introspection. My work forms an intimate tapestry woven from perception and soul, inviting the viewer to step into a space where the seen and the unseen quietly converge.
