Russian-born  Irish artist Natalya Nikolskaya was born in Moscow, Russia in 1958. She holds a PhD in neurology and for many years pursued a distinguished career as a consultant neurologist. After Perestroika, which means ‘rebuilding’ in Russian, Natalya began to rebuild her own life when she moved to Ireland with her daughter and her husband Yury. Always drawn to the arts, the young Natalya studied music for seven years in her native Russia and experimented in visual art in her early years. But life in the heart of Connemara and the discovery of oil painting was to prove transformative.

The work of Natalya Nikolskaya rewards careful study and quiet contemplation, as the full impact of each image reveals itself slowly to the viewer. Her strong sense of composition and colour underline her special appeal. Indeed both colour and texture are important in her work. Natalya brings her own style to the study of still life subjects as a doctor and as an artist. ‘I believe medicine and art are both therapeutic – one seeks to provide therapy to the body, the other to the soul’.

Living along the Wild Atlantic Way has also led Natalya to apply her artistic vision to the Connemara landscape, something that has fascinated generations of Irish artists. But again she brings a new twist to her work, presenting a brighter palette and a sunnier version to counter the traditional depiction of leaden western skies and impending storms.

Natalya’s work has already been chosen for inclusion in group shows by leading Dublin galleries, The Kenny Gallery (Galway) and Greenacres Art Gallery (Wexford). Her most recent solo exhibition Contemplations, was held at the Latin Quarter Gallery, Redcross, County Wicklow, in October 2018. 

Natalya’s work is held in numerous private collections in Leipzig, Germany; Moscow, Russia, Dublin, Ireland. Colombo, Sri Lanka and Doha, Qatar.

                                                                                                                                        Dermott Barrett