Tanya ANASTASS

"Observing the urban world, the bridges and buildings hold an artistic poetry for me. I am interested in the megalithic structures we built in our cities and the cohabiting of people and nature in the modern megapolis. I use the details of bridges in my paintings as a connecting element between places but also connecting people and cultures."

The monumental structures of New York City were the inspiration of Tanya's work. Having a major in mural painting, Tanya was always interested in the connection of art and architecture.

Tanya's paintings are influenced by the Orthodox icons and her work mainly in acrylic or oil on wood panels, using the classical technics of layering and making gradients of color, glazing by using thin layers of paint, and gold leaf as well as rusted and mangled metal parts found in the streets.

The visual contrast between the old industrial elements found everywhere in the city and the glitz and glamour of glass, steel and brass of the new technological developments were the thing that interested Tanya. She often incorporates a gold leaf as an opposition to the discarded, rusting detritus we leave behind as a reminder that the new technologies will be transforming the environment in the near future.

The juxtaposition of the old, rusted, discarded elements to the new futuristic materials gives Tanya the visual opportunity to ask the question what we leave behind and how we can change our environment.