Some artists use surrealism to build entirely new worlds, while others use it to transform the familiar into something unexpectedly revealing. Ukrainian artist Ivanka Nechyporuk falls firmly into the second category. Working from her studio in Kyiv, which she jokingly calls “the bird factory,” she creates striking paintings that revolve around one recurring figure: the goose. But these are not ordinary geese. In Ivanka’s hands, they become vessels for emotion, symbolism, contradiction, and self-expression, painted with zebra stripes, leopard-like spots, electric colors, and dreamlike forms that make them feel both recognizable and completely otherworldly.
Born in 1994 in Netishyn, Ukraine, Ivanka earned a master’s degree in art restoration before turning her focus toward her own creative practice. Her background shows in the care and control of her work, but what makes her art especially compelling is the concept behind it. She describes the goose as a kind of neutral canvas, a familiar shape through which she can express inner states, personal experience, and the ongoing search for identity. That idea of duality sits at the center of her paintings: the viewer first sees a bird they recognize, then quickly realizes that its colors, textures, and patterns defy every expectation. The result is playful, a little uncanny, and deeply intentional.
Now, we’d love to know what you think. Which of Ivanka Nechyporuk’s surreal geese paintings caught your eye the most?
There is also something fascinating about the tension in her work between softness and boldness. Her geese often have delicate, finely rendered feathers and calm, almost curious expressions, yet they are paired with vivid palettes and unexpected visual clashes that make them impossible to ignore. Some paintings feel humorous at first glance, while others lean toward introspection, but all invite a closer look. Ivanka draws inspiration from nature, textures, materials, animals, and the hidden harmony of the world around her, and that sensitivity comes through even in her most surreal compositions. Her art feels whimsical without being shallow, strange without losing emotional clarity.
