Meet Katherine Zhukovsky | Contemporary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine Zhukovsky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katherine, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in the Soviet Union, and then of course it fell apart about 5 minutes later and we fled to the United States (for better or worse). And so, like many 1.5-generation immigrants, I am always finding myself in these middle spaces between cultures, between languages… but all the things I am between feel almost mythological. The place I was born in no longer exists, the place I am now in was illusory from the start. I left a place in which I was racialized for a place in which I am overwhelmingly not. I have this sort of classical European upbringing that doesn’t make very much sense in most of the environments I actually find myself in but is occasionally convincing in talking my way into all kinds of nonsense.

I’ve lived so many professional lives, I’ve been a scientist and a bartender and a writer and a yoga instructor, I’ve modeled for artists and on runways and I’ve helped run blood banks and hospitals. I think there’s so much value in moving through these middle spaces, I feel like I’m always peeking behind curtains and learning how all these weird things work and getting to observe and interact with the most interesting parts of people.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In my art I’m really interested in the bodily experience of all those middle spaces. There are these sort of parallel processes running in every interaction with an environment: there’s the actual, physical body that’s sensing and feeling and responding in these really direct ways; and then there’s the internal self that’s managing and interpreting the experience. And in my work, I really want to look at the way these two processes intersect and contextualize and reconfigure each other.

The head, the face, the hands especially, these parts are so forefront in the way we experience the world, but they also communicate (or betray) our internal states to anyone who happens to be watching. I’d really love to think of myself as stoic and mysterious, but I actually have this incredibly expressive face that tells everyone everything whether I want it to or not. If you’ve ever sat next to me in a meeting that could have been an email, you know just how true this is. And of course I very much talk with my hands, sometimes literally instead of with words.

So you’ll notice in my paintings that the figures will have abstracted or differently rendered hands, or will be missing faces or even heads entirely, so that that tension between the body and the self is really forefront. And I really want you, as the viewer, to see yourself in the body, to feel your “self” being observed. We sort of take for granted that what we see in the mirror or in photos or videos is accurate, but it’s not really the same thing at all. You never really get to experience your face from the outside, to see it while others are seeing it, because you’re always behind it, looking outward. It’s a hole in your perception of yourself. I want you to gaze at your own navel, I guess.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many things to love in LA, but my top 3 can’t-miss places are a no-brainer. You have to try the seafood at Crudo e Nudo in Santa Monica. Brian and Leena are amazing, those crazy kids opened a restaurant in 2020 and not only made it work but quietly overhauled the entire concept of how restaurants operate. So, you know, no big deal. Definitely spend an afternoon at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. I don’t want to spoiler it too much because it’s best to go in cold; suffice to say it is deeply weird and beyond delightful. And, of course, stop in to Traktir in West Hollywood for my absolute favorite Russian food anywhere. Get the horseradish vodka. Trust.

Do it in that order for nightlife or in reverse to catch the sunset on the coast. Different strokes for different folks, you know?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am so lucky to be surrounded by the absolute most supportive and inspiring people. My incredible partner, who gifted me the sketchbook that changed everything, and who is always on board to build the absolute weirdest little life with me. Our friends, all of whom are wildly talented and fascinating and always doing and building the most interesting things. My mom, who never turns down an adventure, whose genuine curiosity and love for the world are the backbone for everything I hold near and dear to my heart. My grandparents, who helped raise me and always encouraged me to learn anything and everything I could get my hands on. The community of artists at Location 1980 in Costa Mesa, the Warehouse of Contemporary Art in Anaheim, the local galleries and community spaces in West Hollywood that gave me my start, and everyone working to create and maintain their local art communities wherever they are. People are so cool, man.

Website: chasethesunlight.com

Instagram: instagram.com/chasethesunlight