Rita Natarova

Bio

(b. 1980, Moscow — lives and works in London) Rita Natarova is a painter whose work explores the psychological weight of presence—what it means to inhabit a body, a moment, or a gaze. Rooted in figuration, her paintings often hover between intimacy and introspection, with an underlying tension that never fully resolves. Though classically trained, Rita’s work resists traditional portraiture. She fragments, abstracts, and reimagines the human form to reveal something more internal—less about likeness, more about sensation, memory, or emotional residue. Each piece becomes a quiet excavation of feeling and form. She studied at the Jerusalem Studio School and earned her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2002), followed by an MFA at the University of Pennsylvania. Her accolades include Fulbright, Soros, and Javits Fellowships, and her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Galerie Analix Forever (Geneva) and Forum Gallery (New York). Her first solo exhibition at Analix Forever opens in October 2024. She lives and works in London.