By: Susan Perk
Valentina Riabova is an artist whose life story could easily be the plot of an intriguing bestseller: mysterious origins, a childhood spent in Scandinavian forests, a fascination with Freud’s theories and Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro, and an interest in the ancient Japanese art of shibari. While such a book has yet to be written, all these elements are reflected in her artwork.
Valentina Riabova’s paintings don’t just catch the eye. Realistic and bold, they are imbued with an incredible energy that can shake apathetic conservatives. When you stand before her canvases, you don’t just see skillfully applied brush strokes; you seem to peer inside yourself. It’s as if you’ve received a magical key, opening all the forbidden doors of your being one by one, growing bolder with each turn.
How It All Began
It seems Valentina Riabova’s path was predestined by higher powers even before her birth. She was born in 1990 in Leningrad, a city that ceased to exist under that name just eleven months later, along with the then-current political regime. It reverted to St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of a vast empire celebrated by poets. However, Valentina’s early childhood was spent not only among the magnificent monuments and paintings of St. Petersburg but also in the beautiful forests of Finland.
Her parents, who had no connection to the arts, believed that people should live in harmony with nature, so they spent a third of the year away from civilization. The lack of amenities and even basic comforts did not bother the young Valentina. The most important thing was the absence of walls that limit space and turn any room into a prison where everyone eventually feels trapped.
It was in nature, surrounded by pure natural colors and sounds, that Valentina first picked up a pencil (later adding brushes and a palette) and began to draw… her feelings. She continues to do so to this day, transferring onto canvas the emotions she experiences—her thoughts racing like wild mustangs or flowing like a river and her instincts. She fearlessly challenges society, urging everyone to be more honest with themselves, to abandon stereotypes and to embrace realism as intended by nature.
Life in Civilization
Valentina Riabova received her initial education at Gymnasium No. 505 in St. Petersburg, specializing in French and graduating with a silver medal. She also attended the famous Alexandrino Children’s Art School, located in the Sheremetev Palace, a gem of Russian classicism. It was within these historic walls that Valentina developed her understanding of beauty, which she considers a fundamental value alongside self-development, freedom, and sexuality. She strongly opposes any restrictions, especially on personal freedom.
“Life in the wild forest and the big city taught me to distinguish contrasts. From adolescence, I have been breaking stereotypes, rejecting the fiction created by people to conceal life’s duality,” says Riabova.
Gateway to the World
Valentina graduated from the art school with honors. In 2004, at the age of 14, she won the “Hope of Russia” award in drawing and realized that this was her life’s path.
Her first higher education was at the Neva Institute of Management and Design in St. Petersburg, where she earned a bachelor’s degree with a thesis on totems. She then moved to Europe, living in Essen, Germany, for three years before relocating to Paris. There, she studied at the Marangoni Fashion Institute, focusing on fashion business, styling, and design.
Her second thesis, “Morals?” explores the use of Catholic symbolism in modern clothing, highlighting the contrast between morality (exemplified by Catholic imagery) and human nature (featuring many revealing cuts and exposed areas in the clothing, playing on contrast). She also proposed a lingerie line for Hermes. Despite engaging in various creative pursuits, she never abandoned drawing, seizing every opportunity to improve her skills.
To hone her craft and gain new experiences, Valentina completed courses in graphics, sculpture, and painting at the legendary St. Petersburg art academies named after Baron von Stieglitz and the renowned painter Ilya Repin. She traveled to Lithuania for watercolor lessons with the famous master Sergey Lysyi, studied alla prima oil painting with Sean Cheetham and sculpture with David Simon in Rome, and completed oil painting courses with Roberto Ferri in the Italian commune of Sutri.
“I have always worked on developing my artistic vision and skills. Finishing one school, I would immediately enroll in another, and now I constantly return to drawing and painting,” says Valentina.
In 2011, Valentina discovered another way to visualize her perception of the world—tattooing. Two years later, she became such a renowned artist that she judged popular conventions worldwide, including the Zurich Ink Days and the Florence Tattoo Convention. Since 2022, she has lived and worked in New York City at a tattoo studio on Broadway. Her clients are people who truly appreciate and understand artistic work in the style of color realism.
Valentina Riabova creates tattoos freehand: directly from the mirror, without a stencil, in real-time. Despite her immense popularity in this art form, she still dreams of becoming a recognized painter. She has a portfolio of paintings ready to be presented to the critics and connoisseurs of New York and Los Angeles and does not rule out organizing exhibitions worldwide in the future.
Published by: Holy Minoza
