«We all come from childhood»
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Childhood is the time of great discoveries and unforgettable experiences. A little kid keeps admiring at every new tiny bit of his or her life. It is art that helps us understand the child’s life in all its picturesque versatility. A young artist’s creations serve as a key to open the door to the magic garden of dream and happiness. The exhibition of Polina Dobryakova’s works can be compared with a wonderful world of fantasies, which adults can so often lack.

Polina was born in spring 2003 in the city of Kharkov, Ukraine. Her creative interest showed itself quite early: the tiny kid started drawing when she was no more than ten months. Since early childhood she has been revealing herself as an unordinary creative personality, which can be proved by her very first works. At the age of three and a half, Polina started her studies with a teacher of painting Olga Askoldovna Desyatova. In January 2007, the girl was enrolled at I.Y. Repin children art school № 1. With acquiring mastery, Polina goes on working with gouache on paper, gradually becoming more and more proficient in oil painting technique. The young artist creates her works, applying different brushes along with a variety of sponges, cylinders, rollers, trowel knives, as well as a splashing technique and even her own fingers. From time to time the author tends to mix colours just on canvas to find new interesting hues and interplay. Even in her earliest works we can see a huge potential of Polina as a painter and colourist.

The works are becoming more versatile – along with abstract compositions there appear thematic ones. What remains inchangeable is a powerful charge of positive energy carried by each of the works.

Polina’s painting is done by oil on canvas. This technique requires a lot of skill and proficiency. Polina’s works of art demonstrate a sophisticated and refine colouring. A gallery of expressive images is presented to us in an abstract and expressive-impressionist manner. The little fantasist is inspired by everything around – both by a walk in summer and rain in spring, by her favourite toys and fairy-tales…

Polina Dobryakova’s graphic art is tremendously varied. Her beloved material – gouache – allows her to boldly experiment with colour and texture. Being confidently capable of dealing with line and spot, the young artist creates her bright and amazingly effective compositions full of simple and simultaneously magic and unforgettable images.

Polina’s volumetric and plastic works attract special attention. Sculpture items are represented by reliefs made of specific plastic paste. They are distinguished by integral and expressive form, and an original plasticity language. Leaving unimportant details, the little sculptor highlights the most characteristic things in creating bright and unforgettable images. Among Polina’s reliefs one can also find abstract compositions. Making use of coloured plastic masses, she creates these original sculpture works, applying contrast combinations of different colour and texture.

The decorative panels are of particular interest. The florist compositions are in perfect taste. To work with natural materials is not an easy task even for a mature artist: it’s necessary to express the character of each stone, flower, or shell, without losing integrity and harmony of image.  Each composition reveals itself like a jewelry box. Texture diversity, together with colour contrast and tender hues, makes each work unique. The warmth of wood and sea gifts attribute to specific atmosphere of harmony and spirituality of these collage works, reminding us of the diversity of the world of nature.

Anna Kriventsova, art critic