Ester Petukhova

1.


Little Odessa, A Brighton Beach Anthology (2025)
Printed and bound by Conveyor Studio in NJ. 
80lb Silk Coated paper and matte laminated hardcover, 10 editions.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2025902634

Little Odessa, A Brighton Beach Anthology, is a 100-page hardcover perfect-bound book that reflects on the historic South Brooklyn neighborhood—Brighton Beach—and its successive waves of post-Soviet migration from the 1970s onwards. This visual anthology curates printed ephemera, architectural landmarks, archived restaurant menus, artworks, and cultural media that capture the neighborhood's post-Soviet emigre. And through four short essays, Petukhova meditates on language and cultural connectedness within post-Soviet emigre communities and the kinds of material discrepancies that surface across preservation efforts.

Featured works and material contributions include, artists Alexey Yurenev, Anatoliy Fatakhov, and Ed Gray; author Daniel Blokh; and filmmakers Carol Stein, Levan Koguashvili, and the late Aleksei Balabanov.

This printed edition is accessible to the public at:


Made with the generous support of the Scholastic Art & Writing Alliance’s 2024 Alumni Micro-grant.


2.



If and When You Find Me, (2023)
100 pages - perfect bound, matte-laminated cover with 80# Satin-coated paper.
Printed by Conveyor Studio, with Here Gallery. 75 editions.

If and When You Find Me, is a 100-page visual index that documents how the post-Soviet body has proliferated across time, location, and technology in the western world. Comprised of materials, ranging from found images, popular media, to scanned ephemera and family photographic archives. The index features selected essays from Sonia Rosa Kahn, Daniel Blokh and Ester Petukhova. 

This book was made with the generous support of the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Spring 2023 FRFF Microgrant, Here Gallery, Lexi Bishop, and Sean Beauford. 


3.



PECHKA, PECHKA! (2023)
Zine, 5.5 x 4.25 inches. 3 editions.
8-page zine examining the fictional character “Pechka” across Soviet cinema.
(Image courtesy of The Studios at MASS MoCA, Photo by Thomas Logan.)

ABOUT

 
Ester Petukhova is a painter and material cultural researcher who engages image-making as a channel for visual ethnography. Working from a breadth of found, spoken, or preserved historical and cultural records—Petukhova speculatively frames post-Soviet ontologies through sustained material and textual investigations. 

The subject of asynchronous history (Alexievich, 2013), multi-directional memory (Tlostanova, 2018), and affective archives, are just a few of the key theoretical underpinnings across her artistic inquiry.

Petukhova received her Bachelors in Fine Arts alongside a Minor in Russian Studies at Carnegie Mellon University (2023), and has studied at Yale University’s Norfolk School of Art (2022), Rhode Island School of Design (2018), New York University (2017), and the Pacific Northwest College of Art (2016-2017).

She is a member of the Alliance for Art & Writing: Alumni Advisory Council, and an Alumni Ambassador for Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art.

b. 2000, Vologda.
Based in New York, NY.


︎ ︎ ︎
C/V
Exhibitions
John Hermann, Jr. Memorial Art Museum, Group Show, Curated by Lexi Bishop, January (2026), Bellevue, PA.
The Peddie School: Donna Sands & Mariboe Galleries, “At the Foot of the Hill” (Solo Exhibition), January (2026), Hightstown, NJ.
Malenka Room, Summer Salon Pop-Up, Curated by Abbas A. Malakar, July (2025), New York, NY.
Here Gallery, "If and When You Find Me" (Solo Exhibition), Curated by Sean Beauford, July (2023), Pittsburgh, PA.
Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, "Emerging Horizons", April (2023), Pittsburgh, PA.
Tchotchke Gallery, "If It's Not Baroque, Don't Fix It", August-September (2022), New York, NY (Remote).
The Foundation for Norfolk Living, Norfolk Library, "Home in a Vibrant Community Project: Seeds for Solidarity", July (2022), Norfolk, CT.
Artsy x Thurgood Marshall College Fund: Post-War and Contemporary Art Auction, June (2022)
Carnegie Mellon University: Ellis Gallery, "Resembling Russia" (Solo Exhibition), November (2021), Pittsburgh, PA.
Columbia University: Postcrypt Art Gallery, "Bedroom Show", January (2021), New York, NY (Remote.)
Columbia University: Postcrypt Art Gallery, “Virtual Performance Show”, May (2020), New York, NY (Remote.)
Columbia University: Postcrypt Art Gallery, “The Painting Show”, November (2019), New York, NY
Blackfish Gallery: Fishbowl (Solo Exhibition), September (2019), Portland, OR
Art.Write.Now.Tour 2019-2020: Columbus, OH, Montgomery, AL, Philadelphia, PA, Omaha, NE
Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Scholastic National Gold Medal Exhibition, June (2019), New York, NY
Blackfish Gallery,“The Immigrant Experience”, December (2018), Portland, OR
RISD:Woods Gerry Gallery & Memorial Hall, Pre-College Exhibition, August (2018), Providence, RI
Art.Write.Now.Tour 2018-2019: Manchester, NH, Sacramento, CA, St. Louis, MO, South Bend, IN
Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Scholastic National Gold Medal Exhibition June (2018), New York, NY
Oregon Ballet Theatre, Student Exhibition (2018), Portland, OR
Oregon Congressional Art Show (2018), Portland, OR
Mt. Hood Community College, Student Juried Show (2018), Gresham, OR
NYU: Commons Gallery & Rosenberg Gallery, Summer Student Art Show (2017), New York, NY
Mt. Hood Community College, Student Juried Show (2017), Gresham, OR
Oregon Congressional Art Show (2017), Portland, OR
Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, Student Juried Show, (2017), Portland, OR
Oregon Ballet Theatre, Student Exhibition, (2017), Portland, OR
Gresham Arts Festival (2016), Gresham, OR
Yale Union, Oregon Congressional Art Show (2016), Portland, OR

Press & PublicationIMPULSE Magazine, “Learning to Fly with Ester Petukhova”, by Victoria Reshetnikov (2025)
IMPULSE Magazine, “Face to Face: April 2025”, Studio Visit with Abbas A. Malakar (2025)
“Little Odessa: A Brighton Beach Anthology”, Printed by Conveyor Studios (2025).
Whitehot Magazine, “Finding Ester Petukhova”, Review by Emma Rivas (2023)
Two Coats of Paint, “Ester Petukhova’s cheerfully tragic key”, Review by David Carrier (2023)
“If and When You Find Me”, A Visual Index. Printed by Conveyor Studios, distributed by here Gallery (2023)
Table Magazine: How to Pittsburgh, May-July Issue “Collect and Contemplate” (2023)
PGH Museums, "On the Post-Soviet Subject: Pittsburgh-based Artist Ester Petukhova featured in Tchotchke Gallery Group Exhibition" (2022) Ta'am "q+a: ester petukhova" at Tchotchke Gallery, September (2022)
Ta'am "visual diary: ester petukhova, 35mm" at Tchotchke Gallery, September (2022) PGH Museums, "ESTER PETUKHOVA AUCTIONS WORK TO BENEFIT SAVE THE CHILDREN, UKRAINE" (2022)
The Tartan, Review: "Resembling Russia" at the Ellis Gallery (2021)
University of Washington in St. Louis: Spires Arts and Literary Magazine, December (2021)
Very Local Pittsburgh, "Three Artists Routing Sales to 1Hood Media & Bukit Bail Fund" (2020)
UCLA Art Journal, FLAT, for the Issue: “HALT” (2020)
EX/POST Magazine, Issue for July (2020)
The Adroit Journal: 30th Issue for October (2019) The Oregonian, “Portland teen with feet in two cultures paints her way to the top” (2018)
The Oregonian, “Portland teen wins national honors at Carnegie Hall" (2018) 
Awards & FellowshipsThe Studios at MASS MoCA Full General Fellowship (2026)
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Alumni Microgrant (2024)
Fulbright Hungary Research Semi-finalist (2024)
Dara Birnbaum Award, Carnegie Mellon University, April (2023)
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Frank-Ratchye Further Fund, March (2023)
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Frank-Ratchye Further Fund, October (2022)
Carnegie Mellon University: School of Art Summer Pre-College Academic Workshop Grant (2022)
The Foundation for Norfolk Living: Home in a Vibrant Community Artist Grant (2022)
Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship, Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art (2022)
Emily Phyllis Award, Carnegie Mellon University: School of Art, April (2022)
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Fund for Arts @ the Frontier, October (2021)
Samuel Rosenberg Award, Carnegie Mellon University: School of Art, May (2021)
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Residency-In-Your-Room Fellowship Grant (2020)
SUBPOP Records: Loser Scholar Award  (2019)
Three National Gold Medals in Painting, National Silver Medal with Distinction Portfolio Award, National Silver Medal in Painting, from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (2019)
National Gold Medal: Best-In-Grade 11 for Painting, Three National Silver Medals in Painting from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (2018)
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1. About  2. Paintings  3. Books  4. Contact

5. A Library of Soviet & Post-Soviet Traces


2026 © Ester Petukhova. All Rights Reserved.

 1. About  2. Paintings  3. Books  4. Contact
5. A Library of Soviet & Post-Soviet Traces


2026 © Ester Petukhova. All Rights Reserved.