Russian artist Olga Levchenko’s land of happiness is India

Russian artist Olga Levchenko, known as Tara, showcases her unique vision of India through over 50 oil paintings.

“The moment I stepped on Indian soil I knew it was my home”, says Russian artist Olga Levchenko better known by her pen name Tara. She unveiled an exhibition of more than 50 of her oil paintings at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture on Friday.

Most of her artworks are based on her travels and memories of India and Nepal and offer her perspective of the two countries, its people and their cultures. She visited India more than 15 times and says her best works were done on the banks of the Ganges.

Olga Kroshkino, Chief Event Coordinator at the Russian House, says Olga’s collection adds to the artistic ambience of the Russian House in Delhi.

Levchenko says through her paintings, she allows viewers to take a peep into her thoughts. “I follow the art of impressionism, a liberal art form that conveys spontaneity and independence of thoughts with not just picturesque paintings but also every interior detail in it aligning with realism,” she says.

Levchenko explored India for four yearsbetween 2020 and 2023 and says the city of Varanasi filled her with happiness. The co-existence of modern and ancient structures across the country are reflected in many of her works such as New moon, Reflection of reality and Ganga rhythms .

“Happiness for me is watching the Ganga change colours at different times of the year, it is the reflection of reality. It is a joy to observe the simplicity of children running around the ghats and the wrinkles of wisdom on the faces of the elderly who lead the youth with their learning,” she says.

While travelling across different States and countries, the artist says she soaked in the local culture to be able to depict those authentically in her paintings.