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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.
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. Her exhibition record also includes participation in the Charitable Exhibition of Ukrainian Artists at Galerie L’Entrepôt, Monaco (June 2022) and the group exhibition Connections at 24 ArtGallery, Edinburgh (July 2024).
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.
SELECTED SERIES
I. Light. Phantom Kinetics (2026)
Light. Phantom Kinetics explores the relationship between sculptural form, shadow and the illusion of movement. Working with carefully arranged geometric objects, curved wires, spheres and vertically stacked structures, Kholopova creates compositions in which static forms appear to acquire a dynamic, almost kinetic presence.
Directional illumination produces overlapping shadows, translucent repetitions and displaced silhouettes, transforming physical objects into complex visual constructions. The resulting images capture the suggestion of movement within absolute stillness, allowing a single photographic frame to contain multiple perceptions of form and duration.
Inspired by the experimental approaches of the Bauhaus and the sculptural investigations of Alexander Calder, the collection challenges the distinction between photography and sculpture. Light becomes an active creative force, extending and multiplying the original object to produce an ephemeral architecture of rhythm, balance and optical movement.
" LIGHT CONSTRUCTION NO. 1 "
" LIGHT CONSTRUCTION NO. 2 "
" LIGHT CONSTRUCTION NO. 3 "
" LIGHT CONSTRUCTION NO. 4 "
" LIGHT CONSTRUCTION NO. 5 "
II. Spatial Experiments (2024)
In Spatial Experiments, Yeva Kholopova investigates the architectural possibilities of light through a series of striking geometric abstractions. Elementary forms — squares, triangles, intersecting lines and planes — emerge from deep black backgrounds, illuminated in saturated shades of red, amber and orange.
Rooted in the visual principles of Suprematism and Constructivism, the collection reinterprets the geometric vocabulary of the early twentieth-century avant-garde through contemporary photographic experimentation. Rather than representing fixed, solid structures, Kholopova allows light to redefine their boundaries, creating an ambiguous visual space between two-dimensional composition and three-dimensional architecture.
Through carefully orchestrated contrasts of darkness and luminosity, the works explore tension, equilibrium and spatial perception. Geometry becomes fluid and seemingly weightless, transforming into an architecture constructed not from matter, but from light itself.
" SPATIAL EXPERIMENT I "
" SPATIAL EXPERIMENT II "
" SPATIAL EXPERIMENT III "
" SPATIAL EXPERIMENT IV "
" SPATIAL EXPERIMENT IV "
III. Nature: Artificial Botany (2022)
In Nature: Artificial Botany, Kholopova turns her attention to the organic world, exploring how artificial illumination can transform familiar botanical subjects into unexpected visual abstractions.
Flowers, stems and delicate branching structures are photographed against atmospheric fields of violet, magenta, green and warm amber light. Through intense backlighting and carefully controlled contrasts, petals become translucent surfaces, stems transform into graphic silhouettes, and natural forms begin to resemble sculptural constructions, constellations and intricate geometric patterns.
Drawing upon the tradition of experimental botanical photography, the collection moves beyond conventional representations of nature. Rather than documenting plants as they appear, Kholopova reconstructs their visual identity through colour, light and composition.
The result is a contemporary botanical study in which the boundaries between the organic and the artificial, the natural and the abstract, become increasingly fluid. Nature emerges not simply as a subject of observation, but as an extraordinary source of architectural form and visual experimentation.
" BOTANICAL LIGHT STUDY 1 "
" BOTANICAL LIGHT STUDY 2 "
" BOTANICAL LIGHT STUDY 3 "
" BOTANICAL LIGHT STUDY 4 "
" BOTANICAL LIGHT STUDY 5 "
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