Yelena Popova

Studio B6

Yelena Popova works across a range of media, including painting, tapestry, video and installation. There is a stress placed upon the notion of balance within her work, whether political, aesthetic or metaphysical. Reflecting her upbringing in the USSR, she is influenced by the tenets of Russian Constructivism, while often seeking to discuss the constant development of industrialism and the landscape of contemporary capitalism. Growing up in a secret Soviet nuclear settlement, Popova often turns her attention to nuclear history and heritage. In 2019 Popova conducted a series of research trips around decommissioned nuclear power plants in the UK to produce The Scholar Stones Project commissioned by Holden Gallery, Manchester in 2020. 

Yelena Popova (b.1978, USSR) graduated from MA Painting at RCA in 2011. Yelena’s work is included in the Slow Painting show curated by Martin Herbert for Hayward Gallery touring programme (2019) and Vitamin P3 (new Perspectives in Painting) published by Phaidon (2016). Popova was shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Award in Painting and was included in 100 Painters of Tomorrow published by Thames and Hudson (2014). Yelena has attended a number of residencies among them Girton College; The Art House, Wakefield; CCA Andratx, Mallorca. Recent solo exhibitions include: Landscapes of Power, Philipp von Rosen, Cologne; The Scholar Stones Project, Holden Gallery, Manchester (2020) Her Name is Prometheus, L'etranger, London; Townlets, After Image, Nottingham Contemporary (2016) and Unsensed, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle (2015). Her work has been acquired into the Arts Council Collection, Government Art Collection, Nottingham City Museums & Galleries Collection, RCA Collection, Saatchi Collection, and LWL Museum, Münster.