Maria
Kostareva is a Russian contemporary artist who mainly works in oil painting,
depicting everyday scenes and showing the value of minor things. One of the
most important concepts in her work is sonder – a realization that each random
passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as our own. She refers to the
concept of the Other, proposed by Sartre, to show how fragile and unstable our
position in the world is. Working exclusively from memory, the artist ensures
“that the forms, having been appropriated and in a way transformed by my
memory, have become my own.” Kostareva holds a Bachelor of Arts History (Moscow
State University of Arts named after Surikov) and a Master of Visual Culture
Program (National Research University Higher School of Economics). Formerly a
graphic designer, she devoted herself to art in 2017. Born in the Tver region,
Maria Kostareva lives and works in Moscow.