Liza Petrova - Portrait encounter

I think of portraiture as an optic through which I can approach any subject – a person, a tree or an object – challenging an anthropocentric distinction between human and non-human subjects. What defines portraiture for me is the intimacy of this encounter – a form of sustained attention that creates a particular closeness between the artist and the subject.

Before making the bed

2026

Oil, oil pastel, pencil on canvas

200 × 100 × 12 cm

Study for a tree portrait

2025

Alcohol ink, oil, oil pastel on synthetic paper

70 × 50 cm

Black shirt
2023
Oil, pencil, colored pencil, oil pastel on paper
76 x 61 cm

Autumn scene
2024
Colored pencil, oil pastel, oil on paper
67 × 61 сm

Portraiture fascinates me for many reasons. Portraits allow one to touch another’s inner world. It also engages in a dialogue across time – portraiture spans millennia and cannot be separated from this historical context.

This practice is also deeply personal. After leaving Russia 3 years ago, my life turned into a series of constant transitions — new countries, cities, apartments. In this shifting landscape,Instead of rented flats, people around me became my true home. This is why, over the last few years, portraiture has become central to my practice. I make portraits of friends and family, from life and from photographs.