Seeing for the first time since childhood...

Kulagina attributes most of her aesthetic awareness to the places she has lived or worked as an artist. These diverse places gave her the opportunity to look at art from the viewpoints of different cultures, in different economies and political systems. She grew up in former Soviet Central Asia which introduced her to artists such as Nicholai Sergeivich Shin and David Alfaro Sequeiros, as well as 19th century Romanticism and art of the early 20th century. Living in Honduras and Germany shaped her fascination with color and how emotions are expressed through varying shades and hues on the canvas. Coming to the United States created a new and different backdrop for the work.

Perhaps more importantly though was the change in the landscape of her family with the birth of her son. Now, Kulagina says that she, “look(s) at the world through a more maternal perspective. My art has become more a mirror of myself, of what is going on within me, the mirror of my love of this world and what discoveries are waiting for me behind each canvas.” Her new work expresses a sense of belongingness and connectivity with loved ones - past, present and future.