about
Valeriya Isyak works at the intersection of painting, sculpture, and material research, using porcelain as both medium and language. Her large-scale wall compositions are constructed from thousands of individually formed elements, meticulously assembled into cohesive visual fields that oscillate between image and structure.
Rooted in an early engagement with mosaic, her practice has evolved into a distinct methodology in which porcelain is treated as a painterly substance. Rather than applying colour to the surface, Isyak integrates pigment directly into the porcelain mass prior to firing, allowing tone and depth to emerge from within the material itself. The resulting unglazed, matte surfaces retain a soft, light-absorbing quality that enhances the atmospheric presence of each work.
Her compositions are built through an intensive, cumulative process: layers of hand-shaped porcelain petals form complex arrangements that evoke natural phenomena—floral, atmospheric, and organic—without resolving into literal representation. Existing between abstraction and figuration, the works invite a perceptual experience that shifts with distance and light.
At the core of Isyak’s practice lies a tension between fragility and cohesion. Each individual element is inherently delicate, yet together they form structurally unified, immersive compositions. This interplay becomes both a formal and conceptual language, reflecting on transformation, temporality, and the quiet thresholds of change.
Through this synthesis of process and perception, Isyak expands the possibilities of porcelain, moving it beyond object into a spatial and sensory experience.
Rooted in an early engagement with mosaic, her practice has evolved into a distinct methodology in which porcelain is treated as a painterly substance. Rather than applying colour to the surface, Isyak integrates pigment directly into the porcelain mass prior to firing, allowing tone and depth to emerge from within the material itself. The resulting unglazed, matte surfaces retain a soft, light-absorbing quality that enhances the atmospheric presence of each work.
Her compositions are built through an intensive, cumulative process: layers of hand-shaped porcelain petals form complex arrangements that evoke natural phenomena—floral, atmospheric, and organic—without resolving into literal representation. Existing between abstraction and figuration, the works invite a perceptual experience that shifts with distance and light.
At the core of Isyak’s practice lies a tension between fragility and cohesion. Each individual element is inherently delicate, yet together they form structurally unified, immersive compositions. This interplay becomes both a formal and conceptual language, reflecting on transformation, temporality, and the quiet thresholds of change.
Through this synthesis of process and perception, Isyak expands the possibilities of porcelain, moving it beyond object into a spatial and sensory experience.