Yeva Kholopova is a London-based Ukrainian photographer working at the intersection of geometric forms, optical movement, and the study of light and shade.
Her visual perception first began to take shape in Ukraine, filtered through years of competitive contemporary dance and the creative environment she was immersed in from childhood. Rigorous athletic training instilled an acute sensitivity to physical axes and dynamic balance, which is clearly visible across her work.
“My body was dancing, but at the same time I was thinking about how the body interacts and competes with stage lighting. As I danced across the floor, my eyes were always drawn to the focused beams and cast shadows, capable of completely dissolving and reshaping physical volume. And in that, there was an entirely different, parallel, and utterly captivating life.”
Regular painting practice and intensive training with camera optics and lenses were abruptly interrupted by forced displacement following the outbreak of the war.
Brought by fate to Switzerland, Yeva met the most pivotal figure in her artistic development: her mentor, rigorous critic, and Teacher. Art Basel and Liste Art Fair Basel followed in 2024, marking her first major exhibition platform.
Upon graduating from Collège du Léman in Switzerland, Kholopova stepped away from painting entirely to focus on an independent studio practice in London. Here, she dedicated herself to creating large-scale series, experimenting with presentation across different materials and examining how light transforms physical form.
For many years, the artist has enjoyed a close, enduring collaboration with the impeccably stylish gallerist Max Bernadsky and his MB Contemporary Art Gallery.
A decisive catalyst in her deep inquiry into form and space came through academic studies and the Alexander Calder retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Observing Calder’s mobiles gave Yeva a new perspective and understanding of kinetic energy—one born not from mechanical complexity, but from the tension held between mass, space, and the trajectory of shadow.
In her tabletop arrangements, elementary geometric objects, wire loops, and living botanical forms enter into a dialogue with directional beams of light. Drawing upon the legacies of the Bauhaus and Suprematism, Kholopova captures “virtual motion” within an entirely static frame, exploring the delicate boundary between the flat surface of a photograph and the volume of a physical object.