About
Arina Antonova (b.1980 in Sevastopol) is an artist based between Spain and Switzerland. Her practice focuses on sculpture and installation, using clay as her primary material. Through her work, she explores the body—especially the female—as something lived, remembered, and shaped by power, control, and daily rituals. Food and craft traditions are central to her practice, forming a link between personal memory and broader cultural histories—an approach shaped by her experience of emigration. Antonova’s sculptures often become wearable or body-related objects, inviting intimate connection and physical engagement. For her, sculpture is not just an object—it is a body in space with its presence, story, and impact.
Antonova studied art history in St. Petersburg and Hamburg, focusing on archaeology and art history. After moving to Spain, Antonova discovered clay as the material that would become the foundation of her work for the last ten years. In 2016, Antonova opened her studio in Palma de Mallorca. Her work has been presented in institutional exhibitions and biennales across Europe, alongside gallery shows in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and, most recently, the United States. In 2022, she won second prize in the Modality of Traditional Ceramics in La Rambla, Spain, followed by a nomination for the Martinsons Award in Daugavpils, Latvia, in 2023. In 2024, Antonova contributed as a panel member at the Royal Danish Academy for the Knowledge Sharing Sessions: Crafting Change - Enhancing Innovation and Sustainability in European Ceramics.
Antonova studied art history in St. Petersburg and Hamburg, focusing on archaeology and art history. After moving to Spain, Antonova discovered clay as the material that would become the foundation of her work for the last ten years. In 2016, Antonova opened her studio in Palma de Mallorca. Her work has been presented in institutional exhibitions and biennales across Europe, alongside gallery shows in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and, most recently, the United States. In 2022, she won second prize in the Modality of Traditional Ceramics in La Rambla, Spain, followed by a nomination for the Martinsons Award in Daugavpils, Latvia, in 2023. In 2024, Antonova contributed as a panel member at the Royal Danish Academy for the Knowledge Sharing Sessions: Crafting Change - Enhancing Innovation and Sustainability in European Ceramics.
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
Education
2016 – 2019
Escuela Municipal de Cerámica, Traditional Wheel Throwing, Marratxí, ES
2007 – 2011
University of Applied Sciences,
Illustration / Animation, Hamburg, DE
2002 – 2006
University of Hamburg, Art History, Hamburg, DE
1998 – 2000
University of Humanities and Social Sciences, Art History / Archeology, St.Petersburg, RU
1990 – 1998
Artschool Sevastopol, Painting / Drawing / Sculpture, Crimea, UA
Escuela Municipal de Cerámica, Traditional Wheel Throwing, Marratxí, ES
2007 – 2011
University of Applied Sciences,
Illustration / Animation, Hamburg, DE
2002 – 2006
University of Hamburg, Art History, Hamburg, DE
1998 – 2000
University of Humanities and Social Sciences, Art History / Archeology, St.Petersburg, RU
1990 – 1998
Artschool Sevastopol, Painting / Drawing / Sculpture, Crimea, UA
Residencies
2022 / 2023
Bruckner Foundation City of Carouge, Geneva, CH
2019
Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, Palma de Mallorca, ES
Bruckner Foundation City of Carouge, Geneva, CH
2019
Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, Palma de Mallorca, ES
Awards
2023
Nominated for the Martinsons Award 2023, Daugavpils, LV
2022
Second prize winner in the Modality of Traditional Ceramics, La Rambla, Córdoba, ES
Nominated for the Martinsons Award 2023, Daugavpils, LV
2022
Second prize winner in the Modality of Traditional Ceramics, La Rambla, Córdoba, ES
Biennale
2024
European Ceramic Context Triennale, Hjorts Fabrik, Bornholm, DK
2023
Latvia Ceramics Biennale, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
2021
Internation Ceramic Biennale, Talavera, ES
European Ceramic Context Triennale, Hjorts Fabrik, Bornholm, DK
2023
Latvia Ceramics Biennale, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
2021
Internation Ceramic Biennale, Talavera, ES
Selected Exhibitions
2025
HEART-H, CCA Kunsthalle 1, Andtatx, ES
2024
SLOW, a66gallery, Santanyi, ES
Materia Libre, Natalia Bento Gallery, Alaró, ES
Variable Instructions, Space 776 Gallery, New York, US
Call to Action, AAA Studio, Palma de Mallorca, ES
2023
Captured Stillness, Le Nouveau Vallon, Geneva, CH
Martinsons Award International Exhibition, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
Clay Canvas, Espace l’Aurore, Lausanne, CH
2022
Ceramiche Bestiale, VIII Concorso Ceramico Internationale,
Bling-Bling? International Ceramic Competition, Musée de Carouge, Geneva, CH
Enbarro, Museo de la Ceramica
La Rambla, Córdoba, ES
2021
1000 Vases, Superstudio Più, Milan Design Week, IT
4. FATart Fair, Kammgarn, Schaffhausen, CH
2020
1000 Vases, Galerie Joseph, Paris, FR (Group)
HEART-H, CCA Kunsthalle 1, Andtatx, ES
2024
SLOW, a66gallery, Santanyi, ES
Materia Libre, Natalia Bento Gallery, Alaró, ES
Variable Instructions, Space 776 Gallery, New York, US
Call to Action, AAA Studio, Palma de Mallorca, ES
2023
Captured Stillness, Le Nouveau Vallon, Geneva, CH
Martinsons Award International Exhibition, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
Clay Canvas, Espace l’Aurore, Lausanne, CH
2022
Ceramiche Bestiale, VIII Concorso Ceramico Internationale,
Museo dell’Arte Ceramica, Appignano, IT
Bling-Bling? International Ceramic Competition, Musée de Carouge, Geneva, CH
Enbarro, Museo de la Ceramica
La Rambla, Córdoba, ES
2021
1000 Vases, Superstudio Più, Milan Design Week, IT
4. FATart Fair, Kammgarn, Schaffhausen, CH
2020
1000 Vases, Galerie Joseph, Paris, FR (Group)
Please feel free to contact me to enquire about collaborations and commissions. I speak english, deutsch, русский, español & français.