Celebrated Artist and Designer Katya Leonovich Recently Featured on Close Up Radio

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, May 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Katya Leonovich is a talented, visionary and thought-provoking artist who has made a name for herself in more than one arena, or even country. She began her career as a student of the art academy in Moscow, and today is the owner and often highlight artist in a gallery situated in the Chelsea (NYC) Arts District. She has achieved recognition in three key areas, in fashion design, arts (painter/sculptor) and as an entrepreneur/gallerist. Katya’s work has graced runways in Paris, Milan and NYC Fashion Weeks, and her paintings have appeared in her native Russia, Italy, France, Dubai, Japan and multiple US cities.

Katya always wanted to be an artist and uses her gifts to intrigue, incite, and disrupt the viewer rather than simply please the eye. She also evokes emotional responses that range from caring, empathy, compassion, and delicacy to tension, aggression, sadness, toughness, and unity. She is internationally recognized for her rich legacy of work.

Born and educated in Moscow, Paris and Rome Katya made her global mark designing for notable figures like Cyndi Lauper and Carrie Underwood applying a bold and colorful signature across all of her endeavors. Today, she lives and paints in NYC though she has spent considerable time in other parts of the US.

“My dream was to be an artist when I graduated from the fashion academy. I won a young designer competition in Moscow and an international scholarship that took me to Milan, where I met another designer from a luxury fashion house. I was welcomed into an internship, and it became a big step in my career. But no matter what I did, I was always thinking about being a painter.”

Katya first rose to prominence in 1997 when Ellio Fiorucci created her first fashion show in Milano, and she won the Smirnoff competition. Soon after she was presented with the Mittlemoda Fashion Award for Best Designer. Others followed and Katya created her own couture collection in late 1999. In 2000, Katya received the designer of the year award in Russia. The same creative mindset that conceived “the Alive Dress” for Madonna has conceived numerous pieces of 60’s style pop art. Her works have been shown in numerous galleries culminating with her own, established in 2021.

A love of painting also infuses her fashions. Katya uses colors, panted fabrics, metallics, and silhouettes that mimic the urban landscape in her collections, as well as pastoral animals and instruments from the country music scene in her recent (March 2025) gallery show pieces. The use of color and patterns are apparent in her choices, much like the influence of other artists on the way she paints her landscapes, human figures and abstract works.

Katya is also unique as a woman who collaborates with, displays, and uplifts other women artists. She holds conferences and panel discussions in her gallery and is an active member of NAWA, the National Association of Women Artists.

“Of course, I showcase my own stuff, but I also feature many women artists. I did one for Sharon Stedman, a photographer who is now 80 years old. I have done group shows for living women artists. When I first secured the space in Chelsea I invited NAWA to have a group show with all of their members. I enjoy people with skill and a contemporary style. You never know what tomorrow will bring”’

Katya is always busy, whether developing a new gallery installation or having an intellectual discussion with other artists. No matter what else she is doing, she always makes time to go to her studio and paint, usually listening to some style of music e.g. (jazz or country) while she works. She believes there is a connection between visual art and music and the way they create emotional responses in us.

“I have a lot of ideas about what artists need today, I am always looking for something new, maybe a new perspective on women and suffrage or the latest trend in hotel décor. I like to go to art fairs and give back to my community. I started reaching out to others to use art to fight the isolation of COVID.”

The current gallery exhibit is not Katya’s artwork, but that of a Japanese artist her mother once knew. The pieces are extensions of syllables from characters in the Japanese language.

If you would like to view Katya’ s scope of work, you can look at youtube, her website, or visit the Leonovich Gallery which is open from Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 6. Entrance is free and no ticket is needed. The reception desk can provide information on the current showing and any pieces for sale. Kayta’s incredible paintings are also available for purchase through her authentic Instagram site.

Close Up Radio recently featured Katya Leonovich in a multi-part interview with Jim Masters on Monday April 28th at 3pm Eastern, with Doug Llewelyn on Monday May 5th at 3pm Eastern, with Jim Masters on Monday May 12th at 4pm Eastern, and with Doug Llewelyn on Monday May 19th at 3pm Eastern

Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-1-close-up-radio-spotlights-celebrated-artist/id1785721253?i=1000705494141
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/part-1-close-up-radio-spotlights-273755598/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/02Kbzbf5Wd0M4wA3Lj7vCX

For more information about Katya Leonovich, please visit https://katyaleonovich.com/ and https://leonovichgallery.com/

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
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