Natalia Makarova grew up in a region of Russia where ancient craft techniques continue to live on in everyday culture, domestic life and traditions. In her childhood, objects created by hand—knitted, woven, or embroidered—were always present. For the artist, engaging with traditions is not a gesture toward the past but a way to find stability and discover an invisible connection that holds everything together.

The forms of her works and the materials she uses are inseparable from the land on which they originated, from the rhythms of existence, the memory of the body, and gestures repeated across generations. In her practice, she revisits these aspects through working with clay. By hand and without sketches, she creates woven vessels, art objects, and panels using coil-building techniques.

Natalia enjoys working with form and the plasticity of movement in volume. Currently, her interests have shifted toward flat surfaces—she creates panels from porcelain threads. Porcelain is a unique divine material that requires special skill and attention in sculpting. Brilliantly white, lightweight, and delicate, it evokes in her association with the celestial realm and the soul. She manually rolls out the thinnest porcelain threads and weaves them together to assemble a cohesive mosaic panel.

For Natalia, art is not only a creative act but also a spiritual process—a way to communicate with God, a form of prayer, and an expression of spiritual aspirations. It serves as a bridge between the earthly and heavenly worlds.

NATALIA MAKAROVA

Samara city