Contact Information:

Yelena Lezhen
25 Glen Eagle Dr
Watching, NJ 07069, USA
908-432-9799
lenazhen@gmail.com
www.lenazhenart.com

Biography, Artistic Statement and CV

Yelena Lezhen was born in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. She graduated Kiev Art Design College and worked as an art designer after graduation devoting most of her free time to painting and searching for artistic identity. She came to the US in 1989 and settled down in New York. This city impressed her by its museums, exhibitions and diversity of cultures and art life. The city life and surrounding nature remain the source of her expiration.

Yelena’s artistic career as a professional artist continued after her arrival to the US. At some point she realized that her work was her salvation. Yelena experiments with colors, textures and movement to bring her inner world to life. While much of her art is deeply personal, her recent mixed media drawings series ‘Stand with Ukraine’ attempts to process her reaction to what is happening in the world around her. Her iconography embodies her individual experience in universal terms. Mixed media works on black paper juxtapose narrative with abstraction by putting side by side strokes of acrylic and swift, sometimes flying ink images of people, birds and animals. Usually, these images come from the subconscious reflecting worries and emotions from the past and from her current experience. This way were created series Dreams, Carnival of Life, Betrayal, and others. You want to delay that moment when the fine golden lace bright spots of color are exuded on the black background, and you begin to form through the first guess, and then see the content. And come back again.

Yelena Lezhen has participated in numerous art exhibitions and her paintings and drawings can be found in private collections around the world, including United States, Germany, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine. Yelena was named as a winner at the 2014 International Art Festival sponsored by the Museum of Russian Art (MORA). Last Year she had 3 exhibitions at Manhattan galleries and one exhibition in New Jersey. Recently, she had 2 solo exhibitions - at National Arts Club and at Getaway Art Center. Both exhibitions took place at Manhattan, NY in 2015.

Recent exhibitions:

1. Hot Art Chelsea, The Highline Loft Gallery, Chelsea NY, 2014
2. International Art Festival Selection, The Highline Loft Gallery, Chelsea NY, 2014
3. International Art Festival Finalists Exhibition, MORA, Jersey City NJ, 2015
4. Art Supporting Ukraine Exhibition, The UC NYC, Manhattan NY, 2015
5. Solo Exhibition at the Getaway Art Center NYC, Manhattan NY, 2015
6. Solo Exhibition at the National Arts Club, Gregg Gallery, Manhattan NY, 2015
7. Barcelona in Arte 2015, International Art Exhibition, Barcelona Spain, July 2015
8. Contemporary Art Fair 2015, Reggio Emilia, Italy, September 2015
9. Absolutely Abstract Open Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia Sketch Club, August – September 2015

Open Juried Exhibition Selection:

1. 2014 International Art Festival sponsored by the Museum of Russian Art (MORA), NY USA
2. 2015 Absolutely Abstract Exhibition sponsored by Philadelphia Sketch Club, USA
3. 2015 selection by Paint Pulse Magazine
4. 2015 “INSTINCT: WHY DID YOU MAKE THAT” sponsored by The Parliament Arts Organization, York, PA, USA

Publications:

1. The article at the L.I.ART Magazine, 2014 (see the link:
http://en.li-art.net/reportages/the-museum-of-russian-art-mora)
2. The article “LISTEN UP! New female voices in visual art get a showcase at the National Arts Club” at New York Post, Monday, June 1, 2015
3. Paint Pulse Magazine, Issue #3, 2015 (open juried selection)
4. The online magazine THEWOVENTALEPRESS.NET, Vol. III, #7, July 2015, pp. 45-49 and Back cover page, http://thewoventalepress.net/2015/06/30/vol-iii-7/
5. The online magazine elegantnewyork.com, June and July 2015
http://elegantnewyork.com/ny-exhibition-stand-with-ukraine/
http://elegantnewyork.com/yelena-lezhen/
6. Online Magazine Compatriots in America June, 2015 http://www.compatriotsru.com/russian/sobytija/lokalnye-sobytija/pamjat-vremeni-i-prostranstva-v-interpretatsii-eleny-lezhen-i-ani-rubin

Television:

1. Contemporary Art Review with Maya Pritsker on RTN Television (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFD75kbDHpw)
2. Time Warner Cable 34, Verizon 33, RCN 82, at 5 pm on January 29, 2015
3. Coverage of the Stand Against the War at Ukraine Art Exhibition on NY Public TV
4. NTV- America, June 2015, "The Memory of time and space", Reporter Yulia Rydler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgc-W_rUQqw&feature=youtu.be

Portfolio: