Olena Kvit
Carcassonne
Ukrainian painter, Olena studied and worked as an artist in her hometown Zhytomyr and in Kyiv. Due to the war she moved to France in 2022.
MessageI am a Ukrainian painter currently based in Carcassonne, France, where I settled in 2022 after leaving Ukraine because of the war.
My works are part of private collections in Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. In 2024, one of my paintings was acquired by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne.
Art has been my passion since childhood, when I studied in an art studio and music school. Before dedicating myself fully to painting, I worked for over 20 years as a teacher and consultant in the field of cultural and educational management, earning a PhD in Management. These experiences shaped my sensitivity to human perception, emotion, and creative structure — elements that now infuse my artistic work.
EXHIBITIONS 2022–2025
- 2025, October — 47th Salon d’Automne de Carcassonne, Carcassonne (11)
- 2025, June–July — exhibition at Galerie Artcassonne, Carcassonne (11)
- 2025, March–August — exhibition at Galerie La Friche, Carcassonne (11)
- 2024, October–November — 46th Salon d’Automne de Carcassonne, Carcassonne (11)
- 2024, September — Symphony of Colour, group exhibition, Salle des Voûtes, Azille (11)
- 2024, April–May — Create Your Citizenship!, group exhibition, Espace Gibert, Lézignan-Corbières (11)
- 2024, March — Festival des Artistes, Foire de Printemps, Montpellier (34)
- 2023 — Short Shadows of a Long Summer, solo exhibition, Chapelle des Dominicaines, Carcassonne
- 2023, October — 45th Salon d’Automne de Carcassonne, Carcassonne (11)
- 2023 — 15th Festival of Contemporary Art “Cours et Jardins des Arts”, Vers Pont du Gard (30)
- 2023, July — Estivales Lagorre, Seix (09), group exhibition
- 2023, April - May — 3rd Biennale SemeArt 2023, Séméac (65)
- 2022 — group exhibition “Liberty”, Le Forum, Nice (06)
- 2022 — group exhibition “Glory to Ukraine”, Mairie et Galerie V&A, Sarlat-la-Canéda (24)
EDUCATION
2019–2021 — Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA — online program
2019 — International Art Management, Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
2008–2011 — Advanced training in painting, private studio of Leonard and Olena Slavovi, Zhytomyr, Ukraine
2008–2012 — Postdoctoral research in Business Administration, National University of Food Technologies, Kyiv, Ukraine
1997–2002 — PhD in Economics, Institute of Agricultural Economics, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
1991–1996 — Master’s Degree in Management, National University of Polissia, Zhytomyr, Ukraine
Statement
I am particularly drawn to the genres of landscape, interior, and still life, through which I explore the relationship between human beings and their environment — how we shape, choose, and transform the spaces we inhabit, and how nature, local traditions, and atmosphere influence our worldview and inner state.
I seek to express the aesthetic pleasure of color, light, and form, capturing the balance between harmony and contrast. My paintings are bright, expressive, and filled with a positive and emotional perception of reality.
Working mainly with oil, acrylic, and mixed media, I oscillate between figurative expression and abstraction, not to replicate reality, but to reveal my personal vision of it — where emotion meets structure, and intuition meets balance.
I am inspired by nature, the southern light of France, and the artistic heritage of Ukrainian and European painters whose works combine depth, vitality, and poetic reflection.
In addition to my studio practice, I lead painting workshops in Carcassonne and in Bagnoles, sharing my love for creativity and visual storytelling.
Powered by Artwork Archive