New Exhibition by Activist Artist Shines Human Light on Homeless

Zhenya Gershman is an artist who uses her canvas to highlight a wide variety of causes, from the plight of the homeless in America to the fight for freedom in Ukraine.

Born in Moscow in 1975, Gershman is now a bi-coastal painter in her adopted country, with studios in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood as well as in Los Angeles. Painting fulfills her lifelong ambition: Since she was 10 years old, she says knew she wanted to become an artist. At 14, she held her first exhibition in St. Petersburg.

In addition to creating her art, Gershman is an educator at her own school, Zhenya’s Art Academy, where she teaches painting and drawing techniques to international students. As an art historian with a Master of Fine Arts, she also worked in museums, deepening her knowledge and later using this expertise for online museum tours.

In 2021, after the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, she felt compelled to act through art. She painted his portrait, calling it a “landscape of the soul,” a more abstract form, and shared a new piece monthly on Instagram to raise awareness. While it didn’t change the outcome, it spread his message. Another turning point occurred on Feb. 24, 2022, her birthday, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Feeling personally impacted, she painted a portrait of Elena, a Ukrainian woman injured in a bombing in the first attack. The painting sold for $100,000 at an auction, with all proceeds donated to the aid organization Ukraine Red Cross .

She later contacted Elena and showed her the painting virtually. This led to the creation of “Brushes Before Bullets,” a project capturing the war’s atrocities.

After these two major projects, Gershman embraced her new identity as an artist using art to give a chance to those who don’t have one. One day, she saw a homeless person holding a sign that read, “I might as well be invisible.” Gershman’s husband tapped the homeless person’s shoulder and said, “I see you.” This inspired her to create the “I See You” project, which she exhibited last October. The May 10 exhibition, ICU2, is the second part of this project. ICU2 has two meanings: “Intensive Care Unit,” reflecting the fact that homeless people are in dire need of care, and “I see you too,” responding to the homeless by acknowledging their presence.

Zhenya views this project as a way to highlight the divide between those on the streets and society, demonstrating that anyone can fall on hard times, as seen with recent events like the Florida hurricane or fires in Los Angeles. No matter how much money you have, if you are unfortunate, you can end up on the street too, she said.

Every morning on her way to work, she finds inspiration on the subway. There, she meets her “models,” as she calls the people she paints, strangers who catch her eye. She approaches them, asks for a photo, and transforms these candid encounters into oil-on-canvas portraits. Rather than selecting flattering shots, Zhenya chooses what she calls “the bad ones,” seeking emotion and what is missing in the perfect image—for her, painting a perfect picture makes no sense.

She works exclusively with oil-on-canvas, drawn to its texture and expressive potential. She describes oil-on-canvas as a “time capsule,” capturing raw emotion with urgency. This technique allows her to push and pull the paint to reflect the fleeting moments she experiences on the subway. She also uses illusionism in order to create more emotion. Some parts of her paintings are really detailed in order to trigger the memory of the viewer to feel closer to the model—for instance, in “Double Life” she detailed the zipper of the coat. On the opposite, there are unfinished parts, which are created to keep the painting realistic.

“If we saw a painting really well painted that seems perfect, it wouldn’t seem real,” she said. So that’s why she keeps some details “unfinished.” Moreover, her technique makes us want to touch the paintings and even feel as if the model is in the room with us, thanks to the three-dimensional effect.

One of the hardest paintings for her was “The Grill,” about a homeless man sleeping on a heating grate. She said it was a challenge to put feelings into the painting of the grill since it’s just a grill—but she thought, “If he can sleep on it, then I can paint it,” and then succeeded in painting it the way she wanted to.

This ongoing project has connected her with people who have left a lasting impression, such as Rachel, an artist who became a close friend after Zhenya saw her daily, and Daniel, whom Zhenya nervously asked for a photo. When she did, he asked, “Do you think I’m handsome?” She replied, “Yes, of course,” and he agreed to be painted.

Zhenya’s view of homeless people has also evolved. Rather than offering money or food, she believes we should ask them, “What do you need?” to provide the best care. One experience that “shocked” her was when her daughter Nikka saw a homeless man for the first time and begged her to help him. Zhenya was about to give him money, but he refused, saying it wasn’t necessary because she had a child to support.

Her artistic roots are influenced by three major figures: Rembrandt, whose empathy for the needy shaped her approach; Vincent Van Gogh, whose belief in immortalizing everyone in art inspired her inclusivity; and Käthe Kollwitz, whose mastery of black-and-white art conveyed deep emotion with minimal means. Their influence resonates through every brushstroke and subway portrait.

Don’t miss the chance to experience this emotional and new exhibition at Artishouse, 526 7th Ave., 4th floor. Book your visit here: https://www.artishousenyc.com/icu2