10 Questions with Maryna Gradnova
Maryna Gradnova is a London-based independent artist and acclaimed costume designer whose work traverses the worlds of fine art, theatre, film, and opera. With a foundation in Costume Design from Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts and a degree in French Language and Literature from Sorbonne University, Maryna’s practice is rooted in a deep understanding of visual storytelling and cultural nuance.
She is the originator of “Fieriness”, a distinctive ink-based style that channels raw intensity through gestural lines, dynamic movement, and emotionally charged compositions. Her works explore transformation, impermanence, and the tension between chaos and control. This approach is both deeply intuitive and technically refined, merging spontaneity with meticulous detail.
Maryna’s recent years have seen a dedicated focus on fine art, with her works exhibited internationally and featured in curated exhibitions. Alongside her ink practice, she continues to work across illustration, conceptual costume design, and graphic storytelling, bridging visual disciplines with a unique and cohesive voice.
As a full-time BAFTA member and Head of Costume for numerous high-profile productions, Maryna brings the same passion and precision to her design work as she does to her art. Her creations—whether on canvas or on stage—invite audiences into a space where energy, emotion, and visual poetry converge.
Maryna Gradnova - Portrait
Fieriness: Visions in Ink | Project Description
Maryna Gradnova’s artistic practice is a visceral exploration of movement, emotion, and the ephemeral. Working primarily in ink on paper, she has developed a signature approach she calls “Fieriness”—a style defined by explosive gestures, fluid line work, and the delicate balance between chaos and control. Her compositions often emerge in a moment of intuitive flow: figures caught in motion, dissolving or materialising in a space where memory, presence, and absence collide. Through controlled mark-making and spontaneous splashes, she captures the unfiltered energy of human experience. Her palette—fiery reds, obsidian blacks, molten golds—intensifies the emotional undertones of each piece, invoking passion, conflict, and resilience.
Influenced by her background in costume and stage design, Maryna approaches each work as a scene—where the story unfolds not through narrative but through movement and atmosphere. The ink becomes a living force: wild yet intentional, fierce yet tender.
Her works are not merely images to observe, but experiences to feel—inviting the viewer into a charged space where the boundaries between self and subject, control and release, dissolve into expressive rhythm. Through “Fieriness”, Maryna seeks to render the intangible: the spark of becoming, the echo of emotion, the fire of what cannot be held.
The Embrace of the Curl, Ink on paper, 27,1x41,8 cm, 2025 © Maryna Gradnova
INTERVIEW
First of all, let’s talk a bit about yourself. Who are you, and how did you first become interested in art?
I suppose I’d call myself an emerging artist, though labels often feel too defined for something as fluid as identity. I’m still in the process of discovering who I am creatively—it’s an evolving dialogue between the self and the work. My journey began in costume design, where collaboration and storytelling through fabric and form first captivated me. But over time, I’ve felt an undeniable pull toward visual art—something raw, personal, and insistent. It’s like a voice inside me that refuses to quiet, urging me to speak in colour, shape, and texture.
How did your journey from costume design to fine art evolve over time? Although I studied fine art and academic painting at university, it was more of a quiet undercurrent than a clear direction at the time. I never imagined painting could be more than a private pursuit — certainly not something I could build a life around. My path led me into the world of costume design, where I found success and creative fulfilment. But it was during moments of global stillness — lockdowns, industry strikes, the kind of pauses that force reflection — that painting reemerged. What began as a quiet temptation became a vital joy. Art, once a shadow in the wings, stepped into the spotlight.
Illuminated Currents, Ink on paper, 27x27 cm, 2025 © Maryna Gradnova
Maelstrom, Ink on paper, 27x27 cm, 2025 © Maryna Gradnova
How does your background in theatre and film influence your visual art practice?
Theatre and film taught me to read the subtle scripts of the human soul — its shadows, contradictions, and quiet rebellions. Being a fighter myself, I’ve often searched for refuge beyond the constructed stage of human drama. In my visual art, I seek that elusive sanctuary in the natural world — among animals, landscapes, fleeting silences — delicate realms that reflect both our vulnerability and our longing for something unspoiled and enduring.
Can you explain what “Fieriness” means to you and how this style emerged?
“Fieriness” is a state of mind — a raw, unfiltered urgency to capture the present moment before it dissolves. When I return to academic painting, I find discipline, yes, but also a kind of sameness. I could master classical techniques, perhaps even become a notable academic painter — but would that voice resonate? Would I matter as a visual speaker?
Fieriness emerged from a need to paint what I feel now before the emotion fades before time escapes again. It’s driven by instinct, not structure. It speaks of impermanence, illusion, and the fragility of perception. It’s not about control — it’s about surrendering to the fleeting fire of the moment.
Why do you choose ink as your primary medium?
Ink allows me to speak in a distilled, immediate language — one that isn’t burdened by the need to imitate reality. I’m not drawn to precision or the faithful rendering of colour and shade. Instead, I rely on the graphic essence of my work to convey emotion, atmosphere, and intent. Ink offers both clarity and ambiguity — a perfect medium for navigating the space between what is seen and what is felt.
Inferno Waves, Ink on paper, 41x27 cm, 2025 © Maryna Gradnova
Do you plan your compositions, or do they emerge spontaneously as you work?
My process lives somewhere between intention and intuition. At times, a rough idea whispers its shape before I begin — a sketch might surface, and a mood might guide the hand. But more often, the work reveals itself in real-time. The paper becomes a conversation; I begin with a gesture, and it responds. I follow where it leads. There’s always an element of surprise — as if the painting knows more than I do, and I’m just listening.
What emotions or energies are you most drawn to exploring through your art?
I’m drawn to the quiet moments where the grand becomes intimate — where vast emotions compress into a single gesture, a fleeting glance, a curve of light. I like to explore the undercurrent beneath the obvious, the stillness inside chaos, the tenderness hidden in strength. My work often navigates between opposites — presence and absence, power and fragility — trying to capture what slips between words.
How do you balance control and chaos in your creative process?
Chaos doesn’t feel external to me — it lives within, like a constant hum beneath everything. It’s not something I fight against; it’s the pulse that drives me. My art becomes the place where I alchemise that energy — where I turn turbulence into clarity, disorder into form. In life, I move through chaos. In art, I shape it. It’s less about balance and more about transformation — creating something luminous out of what was once shadow.
Tidal Lines, Ink on paper, 27,1x41,6 cm, 2025 © Maryna Gradnova
What do you hope people feel or experience when they view your art?
I hope they catch a glimpse of themselves — not directly, but through a kind of mirrored dream. My work isn’t about offering answers; it’s about opening a space where emotions can echo, shift, and speak back. I think of each piece as a silent dialogue, an invitation. People bring their own stories, their own elations and shadows, and somewhere within the layers of paint, we meet.
Lastly, what are you working on now? And how do you see your career further develop in the future?
At the moment, I’m immersed in a small commotion of Pascal postcards — intimate works with a philosophical pulse. Alongside that, I’ve begun mapping out a deeply personal biographical series titled Born in the USSR. It’s a confrontation with memory, a way of exorcising the quieter, more complex ghosts of my past. I feel the need to face it — not to dwell, but to transform.
As for the future, I see it as a continuous unearthing — a process of uncovering my truest self through the act of creation. I want to keep following the thread wherever it leads, staying honest, curious, and fully devoted to the language of art.
Artist’s Talk
Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.
