Evgenia Berestneva

Evgenia was born in 1987 in Russia.

During her education she was interested in social development, self-discovery and arts. Her early career as graphic designer, complemented with studies in psychology, photography and intercultural communication, was driven by desire to talk directly to the heart of the viewer in order to generate positive change in society and a way of living.

After working in the design and communication field for NGOs and social businesses in Russia, Italy and Qatar, she went on a solo bicycle trip through Latin America, during which she discovered her talent in drawing and painting while volunteering for different projects. This journey of powerful connection with nature and oneself significantly changed her worldview and shaped key topics she is currently exploring through her art: being versus doing, connection versus separation, minimalistic lifestyle and regeneration versus consumption, importance of experiencing life on your own terms, human nature and the reason for existence. In the last 4 years she has been based in a surfing village in Costa Rica, where she creates murals, canvases and takes part in local fundraising art events.

Much of her life journey was a quest for finding a personal freedom - freedom in thinking, opinion and self-expression. Changing working & living environments, countries and cultures, she was moving further and further away from her upbringing context in search for freedom only to find out that the only thing she wanted to be free from were her beliefs, self-limits and the process of self-judgement.

Her series "Who Are You, Really?" features big monochrome portraits, inviting to look deep inside your soul. Soft but loud, tender but strong, they penetrate the viewer with intense sight, asking to drop all the masks we use for protection, wanting to be seen in their vulnerability, loved and accepted for their true nature.

"Sunflower Kids" series celebrates the beauty of authenticity and invites bold authentic presence, telling that by letting our inner light shine, showing up as we are, we automatically liberate others to do the same.

All her work underlines the importance of unconditional love in the process of personal and collective evolution.