I’m Stacey, an Armenian painter currently based in London. Trained in academic art in Moscow, I later developed a more contemporary visual language through studies at Parsons and Central Saint Martins.
After moving to London, my practice became less about following what I had been taught and more about unlearning it: stripping away rules, polish and expectation to create work that feels unmistakably my own.
I’ve been painting for over 15 years. My work is rooted in personal experience, embodiment, human relationships and the way we learn to perceive ourselves through others. Working primarily in oil, I create raw, intimate and provocative paintings that sit between vulnerability and confrontation.
My practice is driven by the desire to take what society often treats as shameful, uncomfortable or imperfect and make it visible, powerful and beautiful. Through my work, I aim to create a sense of release: an invitation to look without apology, to feel without shame, and to return to the body as something lived in, not judged from the outside.
I deliberately make things feel raw, unfinished and unpolished.
In my work, I paint a lot of nudes. I use body language because it’s one of the most honest things we have. It is raw and sensual, and it connects everything through touch, posture and gesture.
I look for beauty where many people see ugliness. I exaggerate shapes and lines to accentuate imperfections, because those imperfections are what make everything different and alive.
A lot of my work is sexual, and I know that can make people uncomfortable. I want to avoid glamour and show a more honest side of sexuality, the side people often feel ashamed of or taught to hide.
Through my work, I want to make women feel better about themselves, more confident, proud and careless in the best way. I want to take the things society puts to shame and make them beautiful through my eyes and my artistic vision.
I know I’m here to push the boundaries of beauty.