Fine Art nominee

This series explores abundance as a philosophical and visual concept rooted in the Baroque tradition. Inspired by the Dutch Golden Age still life, I reinterpret its symbolism through contemporary fine art photography.

Fruits, plants, and natural objects are arranged as quiet offerings rather than decorative displays. Grapes, pomegranates, citrus fruits, and wild herbs appear at the moment of fullness—when life reaches its peak and begins to transform. Baroque light, deep shadows, and tactile textures emphasize the physical presence of each element and its symbolic weight.

“Baroque Abundance” is not about excess, but about balance: between growth and decay, richness and fragility, time and stillness. Each composition invites the viewer to pause and reflect on the transient beauty of life and the silent generosity of nature.

Nataliia Volkova is a fine art photographer.
Before the war in Ukraine, she worked for over 40 years as an obstetrician-gynecologist. With the outbreak of the full-scale war, her professional life changed dramatically: in 2023, while living in forced displacement, she picked up a camera for the first time and began shaping a new artistic path.

In less than two years, she developed a distinctive visual language rooted in the tradition of Dutch Golden Age still life and reinterpreted through contemporary photography. Her baroque still lifes explore themes of time, nature, fragility, and renewal.

By 2024, her work had already gained international recognition: she was named among the Top 10 Fine Art Photography Awards 2024 and Top 10 Women Photography Awards 2024 by OneEyeland.
In 2025, her projects received further recognition in international competitions, including the reFocus Awards, and were featured in curated collections.

Nataliia Volkova is also a juror for international photography competitions and a nominee for the national award “Best Ukrainian Woman in Profession 2024” in the category of Artist.

Her journey represents a powerful professional transformation in which life experience, discipline, and artistic vision have merged into a mature and confident creative practice.