Kate Tova & Anastasia Tumanova: Memory Cradle @ Eleanor Harwood Gallery
Kate Tova is a Russian-Ukrainian artist born in Russia, currently living and working in California, USA. Tova is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans mixed media painting, sculpture, and site-responsive work that’s rooted in a deep engagement with the natural world.
Kate Tova’s art explores the psychological dimensions of the human experience, examining the intrinsic connection between interiority and the natural environment. She works across a range of materials and processes, at times applying paint directly with plants from her garden, allowing organic forms to become both subject and instrument. Through vibrant color and tactile texture, her work bridges internal emotional states and the external world, advocating for the care of the body, the mind, and the planet.
A recent focus of Tova's work centers on the landscape as a sanctuary and mirror for human awakening and connection. In major projects such as her museum exhibition A Place to Rest (My Tired Mind), she draws a powerful parallel between California flora regenerating after wildfires and the human experience of recovering from burnout, finding a shared capacity for renewal. Wildflowers recur throughout her work as enduring symbols of hope and resilience.
Tova completed an artist residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and her work has been exhibited at the Oceanside Museum of Art, the Monterey Museum of Art, among other international spaces and institutions. She has been featured as a spotlight artist in a Cadillac campaign, and her work has appeared on the covers of San Francisco Magazine and ArtScene Magazine.
Anastasia Tumanova is a Russian-American ceramic artist currently working in Berkeley, California. She captures the spirit of nature by translating its shapes,patterns, textures, and colors into abstract, dimensional artworks and site specific installations that venerate nature's beauty and bring the outdoors inside. Her work is inspired by the flora and natural surroundings of her home in California, as well as traditional Russian craft and folk art.
Tumanova has exhibited her work at Hashimoto Contemporary, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Local Language Art Gallery, Heron Arts, and most recently at the 47th annual San Francisco Showcase. Some of her past clients include The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Google, and Walt Disney World. Anastasia received her Bachelor of Art from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2009. Before becoming a ceramic artist, Anastasia worked for a decade as a graphic designer in the technology and architecture industries. Her rigorous training and industry experience as a designer continues to influence her illustrative, graphic, and meticulous approach when handling clay.