PAINTING
NADIYA SPILLER
 
DETAILS
Canvas, Mesh, Acrylic Color
73 × 93 cm (each)
2025
 
DESCRIPTION
This diptych is not a classical portrait, but an inner moment made visible. The same
Ukrainian woman appears twice, and yet she is not the same. Between Inhale and Exhale,
a quiet, intimate space opens up — a space where inner states can exist without
explanation. The woman wears a fine veil that only partially reveals her face. It lends her a sense of mystery and distance, as if her inner world can only be approached indirectly. The net on which she is painted forms another layer between her and the outside world, creating the
feeling of looking through several filters at once.
Her face appears slightly fragmented, dissolved into small color fields, yet it remains whole.
Nothing is sharply defined; everything seems in motion — much like inner states
themselves. In Inhale, there is presence. Her gaze is open, direct, and alert. Behind the veil, she
confronts the world without retreat, almost challengingly. This is not a moment of
withdrawal, but of standing one’s ground — clear, collected, fully present.
Exhale reveals the opposite state. Her eyes are closed, not in rest, but in inward attention.
Behind the veil she appears more distant, almost untouchable. It is not complete release,
but a careful letting go — quiet, controlled, turned inward.
Together, the two works speak of inner states that do not contradict each other, but
complement one another. They reflect visibility and retreat, strength and vulnerability. The
diptych remains quiet and mysterious — and it is precisely in this restraint that its power
lies.
 
BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST
Nadiya Spiller (born 28 July 1979 in Donetsk, Ukraine) is a Berlin-based ophthalmologist and contemporary artist. Originally trained as a medical doctor in Donetsk and Dresden, she has worked in ophthalmology in Germany since 2007 and became board-certified in 2021. In 2025 she earned her doctoral degree from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Alongside her medical career, Nadiya has pursued art since receiving the title Artist of Ukraine in 1997. In 2021 she developed her distinctive pixel-texture painting technique, which has been exhibited in Cairo and Berlin, including the solo shows Timeless Pixels (2022) and Art as a Weapon (2024).
She speaks Ukrainian and Russian natively, is fluent in German, and has good command of English. Nadiya lives in Berlin with her husband and three sons.