Yana Oliinyk
Biography
Yana Oliinyk is a Ukrainian-born contemporary visual artist and aspiring art educator based in the United States. She immigrated to the U.S. in 2022 and is currently pursuing a degree in Visual Arts with a concentration in Art Education.
Oliinyk has exhibited at the Finley Gallery at Montclair State University and participated in Well Being Month at the Montclair Art Museum. She has also volunteered with the Montclair Art Museum through community and cultural programs.
In Summer 2026, Oliinyk participated in an art residency in the Catskill Mountains with the Sugar Maple Art Residency Foundation. Her practice includes mixed media collage, oil painting, watercolor, handmade processes, and video.
Artist statement
My work explores identity, mental health, personal values, family dynamics, and everyday life through a dreamlike and surreal visual language. I am interested in the space between reality and imagination, where memories and ordinary experiences become fragmented, symbolic, and unfamiliar. Dreams often serve as a starting point for my work, allowing me to explore emotions and personal experiences through intuitive narratives.
I work with mixed media collage, oil painting, watercolor, handmade processes, and video. Through layering materials and imagery, I create atmospheric compositions that reflect the complexity of memory, growth, and self-understanding.
My work is influenced by Impressionism, particularly Claude Monet’s use of light and atmosphere, as well as Fred Tomaselli’s approach to intricate mixed-media layering.