POLINA ZHADKO · CONTEMPORARY ARTIST

Multidisciplinary artist, music artist Velesova Nav (Велесова Навь), writer, and film director.

My primary practice is focused on artistic research at the intersection of art and science. I create interactive installations, light-based works, and paintings enhanced with augmented reality (AR) to visualize and explain the principles of quantum physics. This project has evolved beyond contemporary art into a transdisciplinary ecosystem, expanding into literature, music, and cinema.

Polina Zhadko (b. 1998, Moscow) is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of contemporary art and scientific research.

Her international journey began in 2016 when she moved to Tokyo to study Japanese language and contemporary art theory at the Intercultural Institute of Japan. In 2019, she continued her studies in South Korea at Seoul National University, where she also started her professional artistic practice.

Upon returning to Moscow, Polina expanded her technical and conceptual expertise through studies at the Russian Academy of Crafts (sculpture) and the Baza Institute of Contemporary Art. She later continued her education in the UK, studying in Cambridge and London.

Zhadko’s practice is defined by artistic research into the laws of quantum physics, which she visualizes through interactive installations, light-based works, and paintings enhanced with augmented reality (AR). Her ongoing project has evolved into a transdisciplinary ecosystem, expanding beyond galleries into literature, music, and cinema.

Participant in over 50 contemporary art exhibitions in Russia and internationally. Works are held in museum collections and private collections in Russia and abroad.

Education

• 2025 — EC Cambridge, England (Language and Culture)
• 2023 — The Baza Institute (Institute of Contemporary Art), Moscow
• 2020 — Russian Academy of Crafts, Moscow — Sculptor / Mold Maker
• 2020 — Art Matita School, Moscow — Academic Drawing
• 2020 — Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
• 2017 — Intercultural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan — Japanese Language and Contemporary Art

Selected Rankings & Awards

Ranked among the top contemporary artists in Russia by ARTEEX and ART-INDEX.

art-index.ru/en/artists/zhadko-polina

Nominee for the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Prize (2022).

• 2023 — Sergey Kuryokhin Prize Nominees Exhibition. Sergey Kuryokhin Center for Contemporary Art (St. Petersburg, Russia).

Museum Collections

Works are held in the collections of:

• The Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, Kaluga
• The Central House of Aviation and Cosmonautics of DOSAAF Russia, Moscow

Curatorial Projects

Curator of exhibition projects at the Creador Center for Contemporary Art:

• Is It Possible? / Возможно ли? (2022)
• Only Words / Одни слова (2023)

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2023

• The Quantum Path (Квантовый путь) — Solo Exhibition. Khodynka Gallery (Moscow, Russia).
• Quantum Meridian (Квантовый Меридиан) — Solo Exhibition. Meridian Cultural Center (Moscow, Russia).

2022

• Quantum Leap (Квантовый скачок) — Solo Exhibition. Creador Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia).
• Investigations into the Quantum (Изыскания в кванте) — Solo Exhibition. BisArt Gallery at Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia).

2021

• Art Sublimation (Арт сублимация) — Solo Exhibition. Format Gallery (Moscow, Russia).

2020

• Philosophy of Life (Философия жизни) — Solo Exhibition. Art Deco Museum (Moscow, Russia).

Participant in over 50 contemporary art exhibitions in Russia and internationally at prominent venues including the New Tretyakov Gallery, ROSCOSMOS, Winzavod, Mars Center, and EXPO 2020 Dubai.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025

• Black Wigwam — Exhibition Project. Mars Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia).

2023

• Sergey Kuryokhin Prize Nominees Exhibition. Sergey Kuryokhin Center for Contemporary Art (St. Petersburg, Russia).
• Science as Art — Art Cluster Residence. Tavrida.Art (Tavrida, Russia).
• NFT. You'll Have to Cross Over — Exhibition. Gallery "Zdes" on Taganka (Moscow, Russia).

2022

• Metamodern Swing — Group Exhibition. BisArt Gallery at Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia).
• Is It Possible? — Group Exhibition. Creador Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia).
• Creative Wednesdays — International Art Project. New Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia).
• Expo 2020 Dubai (NFT artwork presented at the pavilion). Dubai, UAE.

2021

• Art Shopping — International Contemporary Art Fair. Carrousel du Louvre (Paris, France).
• Sputnik — International Exhibition dedicated to the first satellite launch. ROSCOSMOS Exhibition Hall (Moscow, Russia).
• Group Exhibition. Art Cave Gallery (Zurich, Switzerland).
• Russian Art Prize. Moscow House of Artists (Moscow, Russia).
• Talent of Russia — All-Russian Contemporary Art Competition. Gostiny Dvor (Moscow, Russia).

2020

• The Chancellery — Group Exhibition & Performance within the Parallel Program of the 7th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art. 25 Kadr Gallery (Moscow, Russia).
• Art Week in the Czech Republic — Group Exhibition. Gustav Mahler House (Jihlava, Czech Republic).

2019

• Art Week in China — Group Exhibition. Beijing, China.