Yuliya Solomennaya

Yuliya Solomennaya: Structure, Feeling, and the Space Between

Yuliya Solomennaya's background is not the usual starting point for an abstract painter. She trained as an architect, spending years studying structural form, spatial logic, and the way built environments shape human experience. That grounding has never left her work. It shows in the balance of her compositions, in the way her paintings hold together even when the brushwork is at its most expressive.

Born in 1989 in Grodno, Belarus, a city known for its European architecture and green surroundings, Yuliya began painting at the age of five. She studied at the Art School in Grodno before going on to complete a degree in Architecture and Relevant Services at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. Her mentors during her formative years included Nikolay Pantukhov, Alexander Izobov, Genadiy Lakoba, and Vitaly Mazurov. In 2013, she relocated to the UAE, and her career expanded considerably from there.

She works across abstract painting, interior art, and animal portraits, a range that might seem broad but carries a consistent thread: each body of work is concerned with how colour and form communicate feeling. Her abstract pieces draw on organic shapes and bold brushwork, producing work that is energetic without being restless. Her animal portraits take a different register, quieter, more observational, but no less considered.

Her exhibition record spans the UAE, the United States, Mexico, India, Oman, and Greece, with participation in events including World Art Dubai 2022, a UNESCO International Action Art Exhibition, and numerous shows presented by Funun Arts Gallery. In 2022, she was part of an art event in Dubai that received a Guinness World Record. In 2024, she placed second in a competition held by ArtLab. Her work has been covered by Gulf News, Gulf Today, The Times of UAE, and featured in publications including The Life of Artists and Women Artists Around the World.

Beyond her studio practice, she has used her platform purposefully, leading an exhibition titled 'The Colour of Hope' in support of breast cancer awareness, a project that received coverage across regional media.

Her architectural training gave her an eye for how art functions within a space rather than simply occupying it. That sensibility runs through everything she produces: paintings that are made to be lived with, that shift subtly depending on the light, the room, the viewer. It is a practical kind of beauty, and in Yuliya's hands, it is also a deeply personal one.