Kalinka Duaiv

Art Brokerage: Kalinka Duaiv French Artist: b. 1977. Kalinka was born in Paris, France in 1977. She grew up in an artistic family and in an artistic milieu, surrounded by artists, musicians, dancers, and painters. Her mother was a highly regarded ballet dancer, and her grandmother was an opera singer. Consequently, her first artistic endeavors centered on music and dance. She studied ballet, cello, and piano, but ultimately, through her own desire and the urging of her father—an acclaimed painter—Kalinka decided to pursue visual art. Her family traveled extensively, residing in Vallauris, in the south of France, Paris, Paraguay, and the United States. At age 15, while living in Vallauris, she began to assist her father in coordinating exhibitions of his artwork. During this time, she met Marina Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo Picasso, and photographer Andre Villers, whose photographs of Picasso are internationally renowned. These relationships had a profound effect on Kalinka's determination to continue as an artist. Kalinka works exclusively with mixed media, palette knives, brushes, and paint rollers. She was exposed to many of the famous and influential artists of the modern period who resided in the south of France, the so-called "School of Nice," an influence she carried into her own art. She also met several modernist masters at exhibitions in the region, including Fernando Botero, Aramand, and Cesar. Kalinka invites viewers into a vivid world of bright, swirling colors and emotion. With a technique informed by the Parisian artists she met in her youth, Kalinka paints expressive landscapes, seascapes, and lush flower arrangements that she refers to as pieces of her soul. Listings wanted.