Katharina Davoudian grew up in Etobicoke, in a multicultural family of immigrants, a Ukrainian mother and a Persian-Armenian father. She is the oldest of three and a loving and caring sibling to her brother Lukian and sister Marianna.
In elementary school, Katharina attended different after-school activities and it became obvious to her mother that she had an extraordinary talent for visual arts. She attended private lessons, art classes with artists Natalia Brylynskyy and Ludmila Barmina, and classes at Nelson Arts Community Centre. For two summers, Katharina attended ArtQuest, a summer art camp in Florida taught by the artist Gregory Graham Grant. While studying chemistry and English at the University of Toronto, she continued to develop her painting skills in her free time. In September 2021, Katharina started her PhD in analytical chemistry at UofT and decided to broaden her art knowledge by taking art classes at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Science and art complement each other well in Katharina’s everyday life.
Being a creative mind, Katharina also enjoys writing. Her work has been published in The Soap Box, Acta Victoriana, and The Anti-Languorous Project. Recently, Katharina founded Vinci, an online magazine with a spotlight on art, books, food, science, and travel.
Katharina participated in group exhibits at KUMF Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario’s online exhibit Portraits of Resilience. She supported the Hong Kong Protests with her painting and speech at the university event Women of Maidan: Screening and Hong Kong Protest Discussion. She continues to amaze art lovers with her beautiful work online.
Lately, Katharina finished one of her biggest and favoured works, The Emerald Woman. She was inspired by her talented friend, the artist Anna Ivankovich, who takes vintage-inspired self-portraits. When Katharina saw Anna’s photograph, she was so excited to paint her that she forgot to apply gesso to the canvas, as she usually does before beginning a new piece. With this painting, she searched for an alternative to gold paint and was inspired by her favourite artist Gustav Klimt to experiment with gold leaf. Katharina was so eager to complete The Emerald Woman that she lost track of time and stayed up all night painting.
Katharina is unstoppable in everything she does and works hard to achieve her goals. She is always looking for organizations or communities where she could meet like-minded people and engage with others about art.
-written by Uliana Hlynchak – Producer – Kontakt Ukrainian TV Network
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Which ‘hood are you in?
Etobicoke!
What do you do?
I’m an artist and writer. Painting is my main visual outlet, but I’m interested in exploring digital illustration and animation.
I founded a digital magazine, Vinci, to create a space that connects art, books, food, science, and travel. You can find it at vincimag.com.
Outside of the arts, I am a Class of 2021 graduate at the University of Toronto. I’m currently a first-year chemistry PhD student in Professor Michael Thompson’s group at the University of Toronto.
What are you currently working on?
I’m creating several paintings at once! My most challenging one is my biggest painting yet, a twist on Venice’s Rialto Bridge.
I’ve been sporadically typing away at a novel. Will it ever see the light of day? I certainly hope so.
Where can we find your work?
Please see my website, katharinadavoudian.com. You can also find me on Instagram and Tiktok
