About Yelyzaveta Khanna
Welcome to the world of Yelyzaveta Khanna
I like to think of my art as a way of connection, and of myself as someone you already know through my work.
I was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1999, and spent part of my early childhood in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where I went to kindergarten. My father lived in Amsterdam, so the Netherlands has always felt like a second home to me.
Growing up between these two places gave me an early sense of movement, culture, and imagination. Kyiv shaped my roots, while Amsterdam opened my eyes to a different rhythm of life, art, and creativity. These experiences became an important part of who I am, helping me see the world through emotion, color, memory, and connection.
The Path That Shaped My Art
Early Creativity & Recognition
From a very young age, I was drawn to creativity and visual thinking. When I was around 8 or 9 years old, I joined a “Young Lady” course in Kyiv, and that’s where my creative journey truly began. I started by burning designs into wood, then moved on to paper origami, cross-stitching, and embroidering traditional Ukrainian patterns on clothing.
Later, I attended another class where I learned ribbon embroidery and mixed-media painting using gouache combined with natural materials. At the same time, my father taught me how to frame artworks and stretch canvases, which gave me a deeper understanding of the full process of making art.
I began exhibiting my work in Kyiv and later across Ukraine, where I also received first-place recognition in competitions.
Travel, Dreams & Inspiration
At 19, I moved from Ukraine to the Netherlands, bringing my art with me. By then, I was already creating Chinese-inspired oil paintings and landscapes of islands I dreamed of visiting. I have always been someone who lives through imagination and dreams, and over time I realized this became one of the strongest forces in my life.
I worked during the day and painted in the evenings, and later I began traveling. Wherever I went, my brushes and paints traveled with me, whether Cyprus, Panama, Colombia, or Munich.
So far, I have visited 25 countries and more than 270 cities. I have explored over 300 galleries across South America, Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Europe, and more than 150 art museums around the world. I am constantly inspired by different cultures, people, and creative communities. Photography is also a passion of mine, as it helps me observe the world in detail.
Traveling continues to shape my visual language. The diversity of colors, textures, and cultural expressions is what feeds my work, and this is why my paintings are so vibrant.
Artistic Language & Expression
My art exists as a dialogue between cultures, emotions, and contemporary energy through color.
I am fascinated by combinations that at first seem incompatible: expressive contemporary techniques, the freedom of street art brushstrokes, elements of pop art and graphic design, together with ornaments, symbols, and decorative motifs from traditional arts of different cultures. working across techniques, blending decorative painting, abstraction, intuitive gesture, graphic lines, and layered textures.
My work often features symbolic imagery such as animals, figures, and decorative forms. Through these, I express emotions, freedom, and transformation.
It is about the freedom to merge eras, traditions, and styles, and to create something new, bold, and full of life.
