Anna Lukashevsky: The New Immigrants

Anna Lukashevsky is interested in the psychological and sociological aspects of the traumatic events, especially in portraits. Over the past two years, she has painted portraits of new immigrants from Russia and Ukraine. Lukashevsky’s subjects abandoned comfortable lives in Russia because their beliefs were no longer tolerated in the place they called home. The cast of artists, writers, journalists, and filmmakers seen in Lukashevsky’s paintings make up a fraction of the 70,000+ Russian and Ukrainian immigrants to Israel, and each portrait relays the subject’s story. As Lukashevsky speaks with her subjects during lengthy portraiture sessions, their experiences transform her images from an archetype to an individual.

The New Immigrants project began in 2022 with paintings of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants, but after October 7th Lukashevsky was instilled with a desire to capture the emotional impact of Israel’s war against Hamas. These new portraits depict the trauma, depression, and sadness that Israelis have felt since the war with Hamas began. Lukashevsky imbues her paintings with a sense of empathy and fear, portraying an uncertain future and viewing the work as warning signals to the cultural world.

As an immigrant from the USSR herself, Lukashevsky has felt an intrinsic connection to her subjects, and viewed herself as an outsider in the Israeli cultural world. Lukashevsky is a part of the New Barbizon Group, a collective of five Israeli painters born in the USSR who offer a contemporary version of the tradition of painting en plein air. Following in the footsteps of the 19th century Barbizon School, the artists attempt to hold a mirror to contemporary life and highlight the lived experiences of those around them. In The New Immigrants, Lukashevsky utilizes this philosophy to represent the beauty and trauma of the present through those living in it. By deeply engaging with and sharing the stories of her subjects, the artist humanizes the refugee crisis and the effects of war.

Anna Lukashevsky was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and studied at HaMidrasha Art School, Israel. She has had solo exhibitions at the Haifa Museum of Art, and Bat Yam Museum of Art. Lukashevsky’s work can be found in the collections of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Tel Aviv Museum; Haifa Museum, Israel; and numerous private collections.