Originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan, Natalya Kuzmina was educated in a variety of different artistic styles, including Old Russian Icon painting, Realism, Impressionism and the Avant-Garde.  Although these influences were fundamental in her development she found it difficult to conform to one style and eventually began to experiment,  using the different trends as references toward developing her own unique approach. Kuzmina stresses the co-existence of color, shape and composition as the most important characteristics of her work.  Intellectual meaning is subordinated to feeling:  viewers are encouraged to feel the individual experiences and circumstances of the subjects.  Her figures are placed in universally understood situations, inviting viewers to re-evaluate the familiar symbols of everyday living. Using simple physical representations, she creates a wholly original fairy tale-like beauty– a visual representation of the artist’s dreams that relies primarily on evoking emotion.  In the words of the artist herself, “To be touched by another person’s experience is beauty in itself.”