ArtExpo NYC 2025

Mriya Gallery had an incredible time exhibiting at ArtExpo NYC 2025. We were proud to showcase the evocative works of Yuriy Vatkin – a contemporary Ukrainian artist whose works blend elements of impressionism and abstraction. We were honored to have received the Spotlight Award. Thank you ArtExpo New York and to everyone who stopped by our booth, it was a great pleasure to meet so many people supporting our gallery and mission.

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About the Artist

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Yuriy Vatkin is a contemporary Ukrainian artist whose work blends impressionism with abstraction- driven by raw emotion and intuition rather than rigid stylistic boundaries. 

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Trained at the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute, he has painted since childhood, developing a deeply personal visual language of semi-abstract forms and vivid color. His art took on an even more profound significance after surviving 80 days under Russian occupation—a period of devastation that destroyed much of his previous work. In the aftermath, painting became his form of resilience, a relentless expression of survival and renewal. 

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Now, his pieces, many of which were created after February 2022, pulsate with emotion, pain, and energy. Yuriy continues to create in Ukraine, embracing each day with the urgency of an artist who paints even in his dreams.