Viviene Astakhova

I'm a Vienna-based artist working in watercolor and ink. I trained in architecture at the Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg, and I paint buildings and interiors not as fixed structures, but as living surfaces — shaped by light, atmosphere, and the slow accumulation of human presence.
My work begins with observation. A façade in late afternoon light. A marble counter at the quiet hour before a kitchen wakes up. The geometry of a staircase I've walked past a hundred times. I paint these places the way memory holds them — softened at the edges, charged with something that resists explanation.
Watercolor is central to this. The medium can't be forced or corrected, only listened to. The pigments settle where they want; the paper decides what stays. I work in transparent layers, often returning with ink to suggest what light could not. The result is work that feels both precise and breathing — architectural in structure, atmospheric in spirit.
I moved to Vienna seeking a city where art is not only made and shown, but lived with — held inside walls, hallways, and afternoons. Recent exhibitions include "The Light of the City" at Galerie Schwanzer (Vienna, 2026) and "Echoes of Memory" at Galerie La Divina (Vienna, 2026). My work has been ...

2006–2012 — Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Industry, St. Petersburg
Studies in fine art and architecture, beginning at the affiliated Lyceum and continuing through architectural training at the Academy.

2013–2015 — Master's degree, Journalism & Communication

2026
The Light of the City — Solo exhibition, Galerie Schwanzer, Vienna, Austria
Echoes of Memory — Galerie La Divina, Vienna, Austria
CITYgalleryVIENNA by publicartists, Vienna, Austria

2025
Seasons — Dom Da Vinci Art Center, Novosibirsk, Russia

2024
The Most Important — Dom Da Vinci Art Center, Novosibirsk, Russia

2022
Russian Art Prize Exhibition — New Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

2021
Aquarelium — Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, Russia

2020
World of Amazonia — Gallery "Private Collection", Novosibirsk, Russia

2015
Art Shopping — Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France