An artist  whose background ranges from Ukraine, to Israel, to New Jersey, is headed for a residency in Lindsborg.

Ukrainian-born Israeli artist Elena Samarsky will be the Artist-in-Residence at the Red Barn Studio Museum in Lindsborg, from September 3rd to September 28th. A reception will be held on Sunday September 24th from 2 to 4 pm for Elena.

According to the studio, Samarsky is a self-taught artist who operates from her small studio in Hoboken, New Jersey, where she specializes in creating abstract paintings. Her artistic approach involves emotional and intellectual engagement, which helps her cope with and understand new contexts. Through her art, she expresses her feelings and processes new experiences.

From previous experiences during residencies in rural and remote areas, Elena has learned that being in a new location has helped her to disconnect and concentrate on her own artistic process without disturbances of everyday life and routine. The solitude, as well as change of environment can be very thought provoking and productive. Inspired by a new environment, and surrounded by many creations of Lester Raymer might lead to higher sensitivity and spark curiosity to use the different color palettes and experiment with texture, thereby enhancing her creativity.

Elena will spend most of her time creating a series of new paintings inspired by Kandinsky, Chagall, and Malevich, whose work represents the USSR/Russian Ukrainian Avant-Garde movement. She will reflect on how their work impacts her color palette and composition as well as reflection on her own Ukrainian heritage and self-identification in her own work. This artwork of Elena’s is an acrylic titled “Beauty and the Beast.”

Funding for the Red Barn Studio Museum Artist-in-Residence program comes in part from the Kansas Department of Commerce Creative Arts Industries Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.