Currently based in New York and San Francisco, Russian-born artist Kristina Varaksina (b.1981) creates works which are highly sensitive towards human emotion. Often featuring female subjects that are delicately poised, their psychological impressions are both tangible and intriguing. Storytelling compositions maintain a sense of disconcerting serenity: characters seek to escape their surreal climates, and their melancholy expressions subvert familiar domestic items into symbolic miscellany. Letters, vases, books and teacups dwell in the periphery and reflect the despondency of their owners. Varaksina’s personal works are ethereal, projecting the psyche onto the corners of a room. Bedrooms and dining tables are laden with omens of past memories, loss, self-recognition and the inevitability of time. Through a conscientious attention to light and a soft palette, these allegories come to life and absorb the viewer into their microcosm. www.kristinavaraksina.com.