Lilia Kodunova (Ukrainian, b. 1984) was born in Ukraine and now lives in Sevenoaks (Kent), England. She studied at the Academy of Realistic Art in Kyiv, Ukraine (2018-2022) before continuing her development at the Royal Drawing School in London, UK (2023-2024). Her artistic path has been shaped by movement, change, and an evolving understanding of the human psyche.

Lilia’s work rooted in figurative tradition yet extends toward psychological inquiry. Her imagery is not concerned with literal likeness but with internal truth: the fragile, shifting states that define contemporary life. She uses the figure as a vessel for exploring the fragile edges of identity: the moments when emotion becomes landscape, when memory becomes weight, and when silence becomes its own language.

Experiencing the upheaval of the war in Ukraine introduced a new sensitivity to her practice - not as a main subject, but as a catalyst. It revealed the significance of exploring trauma in it’s many forms, from personal rupture to a collective strain. Through this lens, Lilia investigates how people absorb instability, how they hold both suffering and strength, and how inner worlds transform under pressure.

Her artistic approach combines layered brushwork and atmospheric tension. Figures often exist between clarity and dissolution, mirroing the instability of psychological experience. Lilia’s paintings act as a mirrors for emotional states that are complex, contradictory, and often unspoken. In her practice, the anticipation of inner change is ever-present. Her figures carry both uncertainty and possibility, embodying the belief that even within fractured narratives, transformation remains possible.