Regina Rzaeva

Born in 1996 in Angarsk, Russia, she moved to Baku, Azerbaijan at the age of 18 to study at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Art. She graduated as a fashion designer, and her experience working closely with fabrics deeply shaped her sensitivity to materials and surfaces.
For her, art is an integral part of philosophizing and acknowledging the concept of time as well as exploring the technical aspects of her work. Time in her perception is codependent with continuous change and it is always a process of searching and reflection, a non permanent position. Spontaneity and the study of personal perception are central to her practice.
The subtlety, shakiness and lightness in her works refer to the impermanence and fragility of self awareness and realization within the systematization of time. She seeks to capture change, movement, light and temporality.
In her process, she carefully considers paint technique and the surface she works on. She paints in thin layers so as not to lose contact with the material itself. At times the material dictates the rules of working with it and this dialogue becomes part of the artwork. Her background in fashion and experience with fabrics strongly inform this approach.
In her artistic practice she often works with green, a color she discovered through experimentation and personal research. She frequently engages with archival photographs and objects from the past, using them as a foundation for reflection on memory, time and transformation.

Regina Rzaeva is an artist whose work moves through the subconscious, the inner self, and the metaphorical perception of reality.
Her practice is grounded in traditional painting techniques, with a particular focus on materiality and the dialogue between herself and the canvas. Informed by her early experience working with textiles, she treats the fabric ground of the canvas as an integral component of the painting. Using linen and cotton canvases, she applies paint delicately along the weave, allowing the surface to interact with its own structure.
Thematically, her work reflects on time, transformation, and the fragile nature of self-awareness, contemplating the uncertainty of perception. Her approach can be described as observational, attentive to subtle shifts in colour, light, and form. Her visual language has been shaped by migration, the complexity of perceiving reality, a heightened awareness of the passage of time, and a sustained interest in photography and cinema.
Across different series, recurring motifs appear, drawn from archival photographs, fragments of personal diaries, vintage garments, and objects associated with memory and storage. A subtle sense of nostalgic longing for childhood runs through her practice.