Victoria Kukuy

Can you tell us about the first painting you created after moving to Israel? What emotions or memories does it carry?

My first painting in Israel is titled “The Pink Dragon Rests Among Cotton Trees.” It was created during a time of deep transition. I had just repatriated, and everything around me felt unfamiliar and intense. The trees in the painting—massive and strong—were inspired by the local flora, which seemed almost otherworldly to me. In contrast, the dragon is soft, pink, and curled up peacefully. It symbolized vulnerability in this powerful, unknown environment. While it was an honest reflection of how I felt, I don’t consider the painting successful and I rarely revisit it. It brings up emotions that I’ve since moved beyond.

How has the Mediterranean light and architecture influenced your color palette and compositional choices?

The Mediterranean light nearly blinded me when I first arrived—it was so strong and clear. I became captivated by the stones: sunlit stones, shadowed stones, stone walls and pavements. They seemed alive to me—full of history, strength, and beauty. I painted a lot of stone textures in the beginning. I’ve also fallen in love with Tel Aviv, the city I now call home. It’s lively, colorful, full of contradictions—sometimes messy, sometimes elegant, always bathed in sunlight. That vibrant energy and brightness deeply influence the way I see and paint.

 Victoria Kukuy | Green eyes pomegranate | 2025

Pomegranates appear in several of your works. What symbolic or personal meaning do they hold for you?

In Israeli culture, pomegranates carry deep symbolic meaning—life, abundance, tradition. I find it important to incorporate such cultural elements into my work. You see pomegranates everywhere here: blooming on trees in the streets, in markets, in souvenir shops—and now in my paintings as well. They’ve become part of my artistic vocabulary, connecting me to the local visual language.

Your works often include elements of surrealism. How do you balance dreamlike imagery with realistic architectural forms?

Each of my paintings tells a story—always based on feelings and emotions. I want to express how I experience Israel, what it means to me, how I’m slowly getting to know it. I live in a world that feels both real and surreal, and I think that naturally comes through in my art. I don’t try to separate dream from reality—they exist together in the same space on the canvas, just as they do in life.

 Victoria Kukuy | TA dog walk | 2025

What role does memory play in your creative process?

Memory plays a huge role in everything I create. I’m a person with life experience, personal stories, and a strong sense of historical and family memory. All of that inevitably comes through in my paintings. I don’t separate memory from art—it’s part of me, and therefore part of my work.

How has your experience as a self-taught artist shaped your artistic voice and approach to learning?

I still feel I have a lot to learn, and I embrace that. I constantly experiment, try new techniques, explore new directions. Being self-taught has made me very open and curious. Recently, I even explored naive art for the first time, trying to return to a feeling of simplicity and emotional safety. I’m always seeking, always developing. That’s what being self-taught means to me—freedom to grow in my own way.

 Victoria Kukuy | Cats in Jaffo | 2025

Have the urban and cultural textures of Tel Aviv changed how you perceive or depict space in your work?

Yes, absolutely. Tel Aviv has had a strong impact on how I see space and how I build compositions. It’s a city full of contrast—culturally and visually—and I try to understand it through my painting. I want to tell its story through my eyes, through the filter of my emotions and experience. The city continues to shape how I create.