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Nelli Isupova
Nelli Isupova creates her own mythopoetic universe, inhabited by fantastical zoomorphic and anthropomorphic beings. These imaginary figures combine human, animal, bird, fish, plant, and tree-like features into hybrid forms. They do not belong to any specific mythological tradition but emerge instead from the artist’s own imagination, where nature and fantasy exist in a state of continual transformation and openness to metamorphosis.
The artist herself says that she works in a state of joy, and this sense of inner freedom is palpable throughout her work. Isupova’s creatures are gentle, welcoming, and inhabit a world in which humans, nature, and all living beings are fundamentally interconnected. Rather than creating isolated objects, she constructs an immersive universe where each work extends the narrative of another, becoming part of a continuous visual story.
Working with ceramics as a living, malleable material, Isupova combines organic form, decorative color, and the freedom of improvisation. Her fantastical characters exist beyond any specific time or narrative while maintaining a profound connection to nature and the traditions of Ukrainian decorative art.
Thematic Dialogue with Nordic Countries Pavilion
Nelli Isupova is a Ukrainian decorative ceramic artist, one of the leading masters of Ukrainian maiolica. Her instantly recognizable world is peopled by enchanted birds and whimsical beasts, and she defines her own mission simply: “to create a Fairy Tale and give Light.” Isupova’s ceramics are vivid and fantastical, filled with kindness and a bright, philosophical outlook on life.
Her formation began at the Odesa Art College, but her true schooling came in twelve years at the Vasylkiv Maiolica Factory — one of the heartlands of Ukrainian maiolica. It was there that Isupova found her own manner of decoration and the rich, joyful language of color that distinguishes her work to this day.
In the late 1980s, together with the artist Oleksandr Milovzorov, Nelli Isupova co-founded the legendary Kyiv gallery Tryptych — one of the first private art galleries, which actively showed textile, ceramics, and metalwork. Since 1989 her work has been exhibited annually in Ukraine and abroad.
Education
1956–1961 — M. B. Grekov Odesa Art College, Faculty of Ceramics (teachers: Ivan Honcharenko, Dina Kliuvhant).
Practice
1961–1975 — lead artist at the Vasylkiv Maiolica Factory.
Member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine (since 1975).
1988 — co-founder of the contemporary art gallery Tryptych (Kyiv); 1998–2000 — director of the gallery.
Selected exhibitions
2024 — “The Space of Love,” a jubilee retrospective, National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art, Kyiv (all creative periods; works from the museum’s and private collections).
Since 1989 — annual solo and gallery exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad; works have been shown in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France.
Awards
2006 — Serhii Kolos Prize.
2012 — Kateryna Bilokur Prize.
Institutional and public collections
National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art, Kyiv — over 60 works in the permanent collection; works are also on permanent display.
Private and gallery collections in Ukraine and abroad (Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, France).
Artworks Nelli Isupova
