Kyiv-born · Porto-based · Painter
Yana Yank Ukrainian contemporary artist painting the world at full voltage
The artist
Yana Yank paints the world at full voltage — cities dissolving into their own reflections, faces that carry whole histories, bodies that refuse to apologise. Trained in Kyiv and now working in Porto, she uses colour as a language that arrives before words.
- 20+
- exhibitions, festivals & competitions since 2017
- 7
- countries with her work in private collections
- 1
- museum collection — Museum of the City of Kyiv
- 3
- academic degrees in design & visual art
Series 01
Reflections
of Cities
Porto, Venice, New York, Kyiv by night. Architecture melts into water and light — each city painted the way it feels at dusk, not the way it looks on a postcard.
Series 02
Personality
DNA
Portraits as genetic code. Each face is decoded into strands of pure colour — the visible traces of a mind, a faith, a life lived loudly.
Series 03
Buddhism
Devotion as a colour field. Deities and meditations rendered in saffron, vermilion and gold — layered like prayers.
Series 04
We Are
From Ukraine
Painted in 2022, after leaving Kyiv. Defiance with a grin — the series turns fear into heat, and blue and yellow into a declaration.
Series 05
Figurative
& Bodypositive
The body as landscape — embraced, unapologetic, anatomically electric.
Series 06
Skies
& Silence
Where the noise stops. Nebulae, mountain lakes and sunsets — the quiet counterweight to the cities.
Index of works
Living with colour
Large-format originals change a room's temperature. Ask for a visualisation of any work on your own wall.
About Yana Yank
Yana Yank is a Ukrainian visual artist from Kyiv, based in Porto, Portugal. She is a participant of international competitions, exhibitions and art festivals, and the founder of the creative space ChameleonArtSpace in Kyiv.
Her paintings are held in private collections in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the USA, and in the collection of the Museum of the City of Kyiv. She works mostly in mixed technique and oil on canvas, building surfaces with thick impasto, palette knife and her own hands.
At ChameleonArtSpace she promoted Kyiv's cultural scene through art-history lectures for children and adults, painting master classes and art events — and in 2020 she conceived and curated the exhibition Point G, from the idea and artist selection to installation and opening.
Education
- 2017–18
Institute of Contemporary Art, Kyiv — Visual artist
- 2006–11
National Academy of Managers of Culture and Arts — Design
- 2000–04
Kyiv State Institute of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design named after M. Boychuk — Design
Collections
Works in collections across
Private collections in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the USA, and the Museum of the City of Kyiv.
Exhibitions & festivals
2022
- Ukraine Art in Italy Milan, Italy
- Charity Exhibition Lisbon, Portugal
2021
- International Exhibition “Gravity”
- KNIGA in Art Golden Gate Museum, Kyiv
- Law & Art Days “Illusion of Reality”
- Art Against Violence International project
2020
- “Zero Time” Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art
- Ukrainian Culture Week Bruges, Belgium
- Point G Curator & organiser
2019
- Planet Earth Is One Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
- Dream Makers (Plasticwood) Art festival
- Generation Z Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art
- Healing Stream Globus Gallery
- Colors of the World Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
- Diversity of Dreams
2018
- Time in Art Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
- Abstract Art Fest Pavlivka Gallery
- The First Fine Art Fair Perfect Art Group
- Heroism of the “Inside / Outside” Vision
2017
- Funnel of Time Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art
Questions & answers
Who is Yana Yank?
Yana Yank is a Ukrainian contemporary visual artist, originally from Kyiv and now based in Porto, Portugal. She paints expressive, high-colour works in mixed technique and oil — cities, portraits and the human body — and has taken part in more than 20 exhibitions, competitions and art festivals since 2017.
Where is Yana Yank based?
She lives and works in Porto, Portugal. She was born and trained in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she founded the creative space ChameleonArtSpace.
What style and technique does she use?
Her work is expressive and colour-driven: saturated neon palettes, thick impasto and gestural brushwork, usually in mixed technique or oil on canvas. Her main series are Reflections of Cities, Personality DNA, Buddhism, We Are From Ukraine and Figurative.
Where are her paintings held?
In private collections in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the USA, and in the collection of the Museum of the City of Kyiv.
How can I buy a painting or commission a work?
Write to info@yanayank.art or message +351 968 692 766 on WhatsApp, Viber or Telegram for available works, prices and commission enquiries. Selected works are also listed on Saatchi Art.
Where has Yana Yank exhibited?
Her exhibitions include shows at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the Golden Gate Museum in Kyiv, Globus Gallery, Pavlivka Gallery, Ukrainian Culture Week in Bruges (Belgium), and exhibitions in Lisbon and Milan in 2022.
Collect · Commission · Collaborate
Let’s talk colour.
info@yanayank.artStudio
Porto, Portugal
Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine
Phone & messengers
+351 968 692 766 PT
+380 98 079 0797 UA
WhatsApp · Viber · Telegram