Practice Context
Background note
This section provides contextual background to my practice – focusing on materials, working process, and the principles that shape my approach.
My work is grounded in drawing with ink and traditional Chinese brushes. I am drawn to materials that resist full control – ink, water, and paper interact dynamically, shaping each work through a balance of intention and chance. This instability requires discipline and precision – each gesture is irreversible, and every line must carry weight.
I work through series rather than isolated images. Each series functions as a focused investigation, allowing subtle shifts in form, rhythm, and density to emerge over time. Reduction plays a central role – eliminating the secondary in order to heighten attention to movement, pause, and internal tension.
My work is grounded in drawing with ink and traditional Chinese brushes. I am drawn to materials that resist full control – ink, water, and paper interact dynamically, shaping each work through a balance of intention and chance. This instability requires discipline and precision – each gesture is irreversible, and every line must carry weight.
I work through series rather than isolated images. Each series functions as a focused investigation, allowing subtle shifts in form, rhythm, and density to emerge over time. Reduction plays a central role – eliminating the secondary in order to heighten attention to movement, pause, and internal tension.
Observation is fundamental to my process. Walking functions as a method of perception – encounters with natural forms are not recorded directly, but distilled and transformed into drawing. Rather than depicting nature, I seek to register its internal dynamics – pressure, resistance, and transformation.
Sound is an integral part of my working rhythm. While drawing, I listen to Chinese folk music, whose slow tempo and sudden transitions resonate with the flow of ink. The interplay of movement and stillness supports sustained concentration and informs the pacing of my gestures.
My background in architecture informs my sensitivity to space, composition, and structure, while also requiring conscious resistance. Working against habitual regularity and control becomes a means of refining attention and maintaining openness within the drawing process.
This background note does not define my work, but offers context – situating materials, methods, and working conditions that underpin my practice.
Sound is an integral part of my working rhythm. While drawing, I listen to Chinese folk music, whose slow tempo and sudden transitions resonate with the flow of ink. The interplay of movement and stillness supports sustained concentration and informs the pacing of my gestures.
My background in architecture informs my sensitivity to space, composition, and structure, while also requiring conscious resistance. Working against habitual regularity and control becomes a means of refining attention and maintaining openness within the drawing process.
This background note does not define my work, but offers context – situating materials, methods, and working conditions that underpin my practice.
Bio
Anna Kirsanova (b. 1992, Samara, Russia) is a contemporary ink artist based in Brno, Czech Republic. She works with drawing and series-based practice, exploring nature as a process through line, reduction, and attentive observation.
Kirsanova holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Samara University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (2014) and a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Brno (2017). Alongside her artistic practice, she works as a practicing architect, focusing on public architecture..
Kirsanova holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Samara University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (2014) and a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Brno (2017). Alongside her artistic practice, she works as a practicing architect, focusing on public architecture..
Contacts
kirsanova.anna@seznam.cz
+420 774 257 691
+420 774 257 691
