Luxury plays a big role in Kukula’s art and life, who once said of her subjects, “Who really knows who they are, anyway? Clothes help me decide.” We first featured her elaborate paintings of fashion obsessed pale-skinned beauties in Hi-Fructose Vol. 7, and many times on our blog, where over the years she has committed her art to capturing the beauty of Rococo and modern grandeur.
Kukula, whose real name is Nataly Abramovitch, is just as fashion forward in real life, and with her sweet demeanor, is a spitting image of her pretty-faced characters. She refers to her squad as the “Limoges Girls”, named after the porcelain produced by factories near the city of Limoges, France beginning in the late 18th century, which decorates their bodies. A collector of antiques, Kukula finds herself immensely inspired by 18th century paintings and artifacts, which have had the most influence on her style.
In a twist of fate, the girls Kukula paints have become like collectors items in their own right, and are attributed to the artist’s most sought after pieces. They are the extravagant stars of her current mini solo exhibition at Haven Gallery’s booth at SCOPE New York, titled “The Huntington Epidemic”. Her new works depict the girls ornamented from head to toe with antique regalia from the Huntington Collection of California, such as the finest teacups and decorated clocks. Kukula admits that she has dreams about antiques, and executes each piece until it matches the opulent objects that she dreamt.
