Irina Baleva

Attended an art school in Saint-Petersburg and finished it with diploma as Interior Designer.

Worked as a designer for state owned enterprises and performed contractual work for different publishers and newspapers. From 1993 to 1999 taught art at specialized Art Schools.

BATIK (painting on canvas) came to her life in 2000. Its nature and distinctive painting technique are very close to her personality and spirit. BATIK is “a wonderfully creative medium” and for her it is always like an experiment or a trip with revelation at the end – “It is my way of life”.

Irina’s paintings are symbolic. They show reflections of her dreams, experience and emotions through color and images of primal nature. Behind trees and stones, she sees real people with their feelings. The tree is a symbol of energy. It connects three levels of nature the Underworld, the Earth's surface, and the Heavens. It resembles the human life cycle: Birth, Life and Death. "Human and Nature are interdependent and I see it as an essence of my art."

From 1999, she had exhibitions held in Estonia, Finland, Leipzig, Berlin and Bern.

Winner of Culture Premium in Ida-Virumaa 2000, Estonia.