Irina Merkulova Explore Mondoir Studio Nationality: Russian Artistic discipline: painting Based in: Dubai, AE BiographyIrina Merkulova is a contemporary painter working primarily with oil on canvas, using a palette knife and expressive brushwork. Her practice explores the dialogue between tradition and modern identity, focusing on the inner strength, dignity, and quiet presence of women. Drawing inspiration from cultural heritage, sacred spaces, and classical portraiture, Merkulova reinterprets familiar archetypes through a contemporary visual language. Her works balance softness and power, intimacy and monumentality, inviting the viewer into a space of stillness and contemplation. Texture plays a central role in her work. Layered oil paint becomes both a physical and emotional medium, reflecting memory, protection, and the invisible states of being. Rather than depicting external narratives, Merkulova’s paintings capture moments of inner silence — pauses between thought and emotion. Her work resonates with audiences across cultures, offering a universal reflection on femininity, identity, and timeless human presence Artist StatementI am interested in moments of inner stillness — states that exist beyond narrative, time, or place. My work explores femininity not as an image, but as presence: calm, contained, and quietly powerful. Through oil paint and textured surfaces, I create figures that feel protected, almost guarded, as if held by an invisible force. Cultural memory, sacred spaces, and classical portraiture serve as a foundation, but my intention is not to recreate the past — it is to translate its emotional weight into a contemporary language. The palette knife allows me to work instinctively, building layers that resemble memory rather than form. Faces emerge gradually, often remaining partially unresolved, inviting the viewer to pause rather than interpret. ExhibitionsArt gallery, Vladivostok city AwardsBest interpretation of female image. Art Exhibition 2021 Vladivostok EducationArt school, online cources, painting academy Artworks by Irina Merkulova Orchid flower Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $300.00 USD Tango Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $950.00 USD Flamenco Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $1299.00 USD Between us Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $1348.00 USD Spring Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $600.00 USD Dawn Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $449.00 USD Russian Beauty Medium: Oil on linen canvas Price: $600.00 USD Kenian Flower Medium: Oil on canvas (palette knife) Price: $600.00 USD Madrasah Medium: Oil on canvas, palette knife Price: $790.00 USD Amulet Medium: Oil on canvas (palette knife) Price: $1390.00 USD “Stranger” Medium: Oil on canvas Price: $1125.00 USD
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