Svetlana Popova is an artist to be admired. With her love of beauty and strength of character she has made her mark in the art world. Her paintings are impregnated with the spirit of their time and her own particular destiny which gave hope to many, that nothing is impossible.

Born in southern Kazakstan in 1934, she tragically lost her hearing at a very young age and was sent to the School for the Deaf in Leningrad. Evacuated during the blockade, the horrors of war made a lasting impression on her.

In spite of all these difficulties she has had a rich and varied career. This is reflected in her art which is prolific and encompasses different genres and themes. Fashion is one of them, where she worked for more many years and produced an amazing collection of most unusual paintings, full of life and colour.

Other genres are landscape paintings with an orderly study of nature, subtle use of colour, thick layers of paint and sobriety of composition. Her historical paintings portray events in Russian history, but she was never a slave to the political climate. Her favourite genre was that of the portrait, especially children’s portraits where she reflects the inner life and psychology of the child.

Popova graduated from the Moscow Technical School, studied the history of costume, joined the Studio for Fine Arts of the Society for the Deaf and finally graduated from the Moscow Textile Institute. Working as artist designer at the Fashion House in Alma-Ata she was awarded a certificate as First Class Designer and in 1977 became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists. Over her extensive career Popova has had 20 solo and over 40 group exhibitions in Moscow, Russia and abroad. 


Life & Art:

1934 Born in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on December 6th.

1937-1951 After loss of hearing was taken by her mother to Leningrad to be educated in a school for deaf children.

1952-1953 Worked at one of the sewing apprentice factories in Leningrad.

1954-1958 Studied at the Moscow Technical School for Sewing in the section of outer garments.

1958-1959 Svetlana became master instructor of the Sewing Plant in the Moscow district and at the same time enrolled in the Studio for Fine Arts of the All Russian Society for the Deaf.

1959-1965 Studied at the Moscow Textile Institute while continuing to work at Sewing Factory number 3., completing her work practice in the House of Fashion in Riga and her diploma in Tallin.

1965-1967 Worked as artist designer at the sewing and knitting factory in Veliky Luzhah, Pskov.

                  Took part in regional art exhibitions. Worked under the guidance of B.Otarova and received favourable press coverage. Invited to have a solo exhibition in Pskov. Received the Laureate award for oil painting at the All Soviet Festival of Amateur Art.

1968-1969 Worked on interior design at one of the Glass Research Institutes in Moscow.

1969-1972 Worked as artist designer at the Fashion House in Alma-Ata. Awarded a certificate as First Class Designer and her designs were shown at exhibitions in Mongolia and Bulgaria.

1972-1976 Worked at the All Union House of Shoe Fashion in Moscow as shoe designer and later as art designer of the magazine “Shoe Design”.

1976-1980 Ran an Art Club in the Moscow boarding school for deaf children.

1977 Became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists of the USSR in the section of Decorative Arts.

1980 Moved to the painting section of the Moscow Union of Artists of the USSR .

1980-1991 Worked in the Moscow section of the Art Foundation of the Russian Federation and took part in exhibitions in Moscow, Russia and abroad.

Popova’s paintings are in museums and private collections in Russia, Germany, Italy, Great Britain France and the USA.


Solo exhibitions:

1962 - Solo exhibition in the House of Culture for the Deaf, Riga. Latvia.

1966-1968 - Solo Exhibition. Veliki Luki, Pskov region. Russia

1968 - Veliky Luki, Pskov region, Russia.

1988 - Solo exhibition dedicated to the “70th Anniversary of the Soviet Army”. Soviet committee of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War. Moscow.

1988 - Solo exhibition “Fashion in Painting and Drawing”. All Union House of Shoe Fashion”, Kuznetsky Most, Moscow.

1988 - House of Culture. Pustoshka. Pskov region, Russia.

1989 - Moscow Union of Artists, Moscow.

1990 - Bergen, Norway.

1992 - Solo exhibition in the High School for the Deaf. Norway.

1992 - The Town Hall. Oslo, Norway.

1992 - The House of Friendship “France-Russia-France”. Lyon, France.

1992 - The Evangelical Church. Hannover. Germany.

1993 - The House of Culture for the Deaf. Hamburg. Germany.

1999 - The National Museum. Pustoshka, Pskovregion, Russia.

1999 - The Centre for Social Services “Mariana Rosha”. Moscow.

2000 - The House of Culture. Alol, Pskovregion, Russia.

2000-2001 - Exhibition Hall “Ohotny Ryad”, Manezh Square, Moscow.

2002 - The National Museum. Pustoshka, Pskov region, Russia.

2003 - Gallery “Na Bastion”, Pskov. Russia.

2011 - «Europe in the Eyes of a Russian Artist”, National Museum, Pustoshka, Pskov region, Russia. 


Group exhibitions:

1962-1963 - Exhibition of students’ works from the Textile Institute, Moscow.

1965 - Exhibition of works by deaf artists. House of Culture for the Deaf, Moscow.

1967 - All Union exhibition of amateur artists dedicated the 50th October anniversary. Moscow. (First grade diploma).

1969 - Spring exhibition of Moscow artists, Moscow.Exhibition of works by deaf artists, Moscow.

1965-1972 - Exhibition-Fashion show in Mongolia and Bulgaria of the Collection from Alma-Atinsky House of Fashion.

1971 - International exhibition of works by deaf artists, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. (Diploma).

1977 - Municipal exhibition dedicated to the 60th October anniversary, Veliky Luki, Pskov region, Russia.

1978 - Spring exhibition of Moscow artists, Moscow

1982 - Exhibition of the artists of the group “Kolorit” dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Founding of the USSR. Moscow.

1983 - Exhibition of Moscow artists in the House of Culture for the Deaf.

           Exhibition of artists’ work from the Moscow Artists’ Plant “Hammer & Sickle Works - 100 years”,

1984 - Exhibition of artists’ works from the Moscow Artists’ Plant, “Krasnodar Cooperative”, Krasnodar, Russia.

1985 - Exhibition of artists’ works from the Moscow Artists’ Plant “30 years in the Wasteland” Tselinograd. Kazakhstan.

           Group of portraits “Uzbekistan in flower”, Tashkent.

           Moscow regional exhibition. Moscow.

1986 - International exhibition of deaf artists, Poland. (Diploma).

1987 - Exhibition of work by female artists dedicated to March 8th. House of Culture for the Deaf, Moscow.

           Spring exhibition of Moscow artists, Moscow. Art exhibition “Land of Nizhegorod”, Gorky.

           Exhibition of Moscow artists without jury, Moscow.

1989 - International exhibition of works by deaf artists. Torun, Poland (Diploma)

1990 - International exhibition of works by deaf artists. Drammen, Norway.

1992 - International exhibition of works by deaf artists. Central House of Artists, Moscow.

           International exhibition of works by deaf artists. Sorbonne, Paris.

           International exhibition of works by three deaf artists. The Central House for Culture. Oslo, Norway.

1994 - Festival of Culture for the Deaf. Berlin, Germany.

           Exhibition “The Centre HEGSH presents…”The Central House of Artists, Moscow.

           International exhibition of works by deaf artists, Italy (Diploma).

1995 - International exhibition festival of deaf artists, Vienna, Austria.

1996 - Exhibition of Moscow Artists. The Central House of Artists, Moscow.

1997 - SALON 1997. Paris. (Diploma).

2002 - SALON “National Society of Fine Arts” Louvre, Paris.

2003 - “View from the World of Silence”. Museum Exhibition Centre, Electrostal, Moscow region. (Diploma)

2003 - SALON “National Society of Fine Arts”, Paris.

2004 - Exhibition of Moscow Artists. Union of Artists. Kuznetsky Most, Moscow.

2004 - Exhibition of Moscow Artists. Moscow Union of Artists. Tverskaya, Moscow.

2004 - Exhibition of the Disabled. “Kentavr” Centre for Culture. Moscow.

2013 - Exhibition of the Disabled, dedicated to the 22nd. Anniversary of the “Gefest” Centre for Culture. Regional Organization for the Disabled, Theatre of Mimic and Gesture. Moscow.

2014 - Exhibition of the Disabled, dedicated to the 22nd Anniversary of the “Gefest” Centre for Culture. Centre for the magazine “In Single Line”, Moscow.