Elena Moskaleva

Elena Moskaleva has studied art from early childhood: first in an art school in her hometown, and later in Moscow Academic College of Fine Art as a pupil of Matilda Bulgakova. After graduating in 1978 Elena began her work as a painter. Elena is a member of the Moscow Artist Union from 1998 and International Federation of Artists (IFA) UNESCO. She is a regular participant of major exhibitions in Moscow and her paintings were featured on exhibitions worldwide, most notably in Davos in the 1990.

Elena Moskaleva is one of the rare Russian artists working in the genre of optical illusion. Her paintings have been featured in a number of notable albums dedicated to optical illusions in fine art, along with such artists as Octavio Ocampo (Mexico), Michael Cheval (USA), Oleg Shuplyak (Ukraine) Rafal Olbinski (Poland), Liu Bolin (China), István Orosz (Hungary). Most optical illusions are weaved into classical fine art genres such as landscapes. Critics have noted that these double images are well-hidden: "She loves producing lovely artworks that come in pastel colors. Let’s see if your eyes are sharp enough to spot the hidden portraits in this painting." The paintings are also cleverly detailed: "Elena is the kind of artist who can play well with details. This is definitely not just a simple landscape painting." Gabriel Todica notes that Elena Moskaleva draws inspiration from nature and constructs "a surreal, warm and idyllic imagery". Elena Moskaleva's works are featured in several museums as well as in private collections of Brian Eno, Amjad Ali Khan, Eduard Sagalaev, Ted Hartley and Dina Merrill.