Tatyana Ostapenko

About Tatyana

Tatyana Ostapenko is a contemporary visual artist who makes history paintings to record the daily lives of people who usually don’t make it into official historical records. She uses images from her native Ukraine to speak about universal human experiences. Her work is full of empathy and hope in the face of adversity. She was born and raised in the Soviet Union and currently lives in Portland, OR. She holds a BFA in Studio Practice from Portland State University.

Her work has been exhibited at the 5th Geoje International Art Festival (South Korea), Odessa Contemporary Art Biennial (Odessa, Ukraine), the Governors Island Art Fair (NYC), Cape Cod Art Museum (Dennis, MA), Littman Gallery (Portland, OR) Locker 50b (Richmond, VA) and Site: Brooklyn (NY, NY). She has received Professional Development Grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Oregon Arts Commission. Her paintings have been purchased by public, corporate and private collections, including the City of Seattle Portable Works Collection and Stumptown Coffee Art Collection.

Now after a few years of working as a Russian-English interpreter as well as making art, Tatyana is delighted to dedicate herself to a full-time studio practice. When she is not painting or staring out of her studio window, she is picking chanterelles in the mossy woods of the Pacific Northwest.