Elena Dobrovolskaya is a Russian-born and educated artist living in New York and working in Contemporary Realism style primarily in oil and pastel.
She started to exhibit in 2017 and since then exhibited broadly in the US and Europe including New York, Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Vienna and Lisbon.
In February 2025 Elena’s art was presented in Los Angeles Art Show 30th edition by Artifact gallery from New York.
Year 2024 was successfully marked by participation in the “Personal Structures” exhibition in Palazzo Bembo in Venice , organized by ECC in parallel with Venice Art Biennale 60th edition and was run from April until November attracting more than half a million visitors.
The highlight of the year 2023 for Elena was participation in the Focus Art Fair at the famous Saatchi gallery in London presenting the “Portrait of Kate, Princess of Wales”, between her other paintings.
During fall season 2021 Elena exhibited extensively in Italy and in the US:
In October by a personal invitation from the President and Founder of Florence Biennale Dt. Pasquale Celona Elena took part in the Florence Biennale XIIIth edition presenting her triptych “Eternal Femininity – Eternal Love.” The same month she presented her painting “Poetry reading” at the “Aequilibrium” exhibition in Crocetti museum in Rome with ArteBorgo gallery (during Rome Art Week) and took part in ArtExpo New York with Agora gallery. Then in December Elena brought her triptych “Eternal Love” from Florence Biennale to Rome and exhibited it at the Rossocinabro gallery.
Several times (first with SOLO booth in 2019, then with the galleries in 2021 and 2022) Elena was a participant in ArtEXpo New York, the biggest art fair in the US.
In March 2021 Elena Dobrovolskaya’s first SOLO portrait exhibition “Look into my eyes” took place at the Artifact gallery in Manhattan, New York, with a great viewer’s appreciation and an article in ArteryNYC.
In the beginning of 2020 , right before the pandemic, Elena’s painting “Desire” was exhibited at the Body Language exhibition in Palazzo Ca’Zanardi in Venice. In October 2020 Elena’s painting “Modern Nefertiti” was presented to New York citizens on the BIG SCREEN Plaza in the center of Manhattan as the winner of the Arthouse NYC project.
In April 2019 Elena Dobrovolskaya was awarded the International Prize Velazquez (art critic’s award), the ceremony took place at the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona. In June 2019 Elena participated at the Mantova Art Expo in Italy where she was awarded the International Prize Artist of the Year 2019. In September 2019 with the Artifact gallery from New York she took part at the Monaco Yacht Show with attendance of His Highness Prince Albert III of Monaco. In October 2019 Elena’s art was exhibited at the Salon Art Shopping Carrousel du Louvre in Paris with the PAKS gallery from Vienna. In November 2019 she participated at the “Art and Emotion” exhibition at the Shapero Modern gallery in London with Gabriel Fine Arts. Elena was awarded International Prize Giotto (for stylistic value) during the exhibition and presentation of “Segnalati Art Book” curated by art critic Salvatore Russo at the Meeting Art gallery in Lisbon in November 2019. In introduction of her art he wrote:” Elena Dobrovolskaya’s painting is characterized by her high technical ability. A painting that does not go in search of pictorial hyperrealism, seeks the emotion that her works want to express instead”.
Elena Dobrovolskaya’s art appeared in French, Italian and British magazines, most notably House&Garden, GQ, Aesthetica, and London Life as well as was published in the art catalogs “50 Artists to invest in” in Italy in 2020, “Trends in Art: Insights for Collectors” in Great Britain in 2021, “Jaarboek Kunstenaars 23” in Netherlands, “Important World Artists” Volume V in the US in 2022 and “Great Figuratives” in Italy in 2024.
“Elena’s art is a remarkable blend of technical mastery and emotional depth. Her commitment to realism goes beyond mere representation; it’s about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, about telling the stories through images, and about connecting with the viewer on a profound level. Her paintings and drawings are not just visually stunning; they are a celebration of the world we live in, a tribute to the beauty of the tangible, and a reminder of the power of observation and appreciation. In a world increasingly inclined towards the abstract and the virtual, Dobrovolskay’s work is a refreshing and important voice, reminding us of the enduring value and beauty of realism in art”, - wrote Marta Puig, editor at the Contemporary Art Curator magazine.
Elena started to paint in Moscow in 2010 after taking a private lessons with the renowned artist Oleg Leonov, bright member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. After a year at his studio she was accepted as a member of Creative Union of Russian Artists.
In 2012 Elena moved to the US and continued to study oil painting taking art classes and workshops with the famous American portraitists Wendy Caporale, Andrew Lattimore and Dan Thompson.
Elena lives and works at her studio in Somers, Westchester, New York.
