Maria Musiiaka

Maria Musiika was born in 1983 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Through her colourful, life-affirming canvases and illustrations, inspired by Pop Art and Symbolism, she aims to convey positive aspects of human existence. In the artist’s own words, Bliss - a result of 900 hours of painstaking labour - is connected to a famous proverb ‘Ignorance is bliss’. It reflects the idea of people building opinions based on their perceptions of the world which they see as universal truth, often ignoring the validity of other perspectives: ‘On [the] one hand we are not here for too long, and there’s not enough time and no chance to ever learn the truth about everything. But I guess we need to at least admit our ignorance to avoid the prejudice towards something we don’t know… as we really are simultaneously on both sides of this picture.’

*The Consignor is donating 100% of the hammer price from the sale of this and other designated artworks, to be sold during Sotheby’s Contemporary Discoveries online sale held from May 13-19, 2022, to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a not-for-profit humanitarian aid organization that is helping to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine. In addition, in relation to these designated artworks, Sotheby’s will donate 1) 100% of its Overhead Premium to IRC, and 2a) where the artwork is consigned by Ukrainian artist(s), 100% of its Buyer's Premium to such artist(s), and 2b) for all other artworks, its Buyer's Premium, after deducting expenses, to IRC. No portion of the purchase price is tax-deductible. For more information about the IRC, visit www.rescue.org