Irina Troitskaya is an illustrator and art educator based in Berlin. Her processes adapt analogue drawing, stencil-making, printing, archival and literary interpretation of visual and verbal sources of information. Working across image making and character development, the artist is weaving comics features and elements of contemporary graphics into the context.

Irina grew up in Izhevsk, an industrial Udmurt city, surrounded by forests and the sounds of electronic music played by the local collectives. She has been drawing for as long as she can remember herself. Her slightly surreal and poetic works record those fragile moments of life which are quite hard to capture, as they vanish from our sight in a blink. 


Soviet era heritage, 2019

She was studying painting, drawing and fine art history at the Udmurt State University, Faculty of Arts in Izhevsk, Russia. Later she entered the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, England and got her Master's in Illustration.

Started to publish illustrations in 2003, Irina works for editorial, advertising and book publishing. She has been commissioned by Leo Burnett, Hewlett-Packard, Adidias, Alfa-Capital, Yandex, BMW, Elle, Men’s Health, GQ and Afisha magazine – to name but a few. Her works are in private collections in Russia, Spain, China, Argentina, USA, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The regular activity these days also includes lecturing and running workshops at the Universal University and many other online and offline educational platforms. Irina Troitskaya is the Senior Lecturer on BA (hons) Illustration course at British Higher school of Art and Design, Moscow. Visiting Lecturer & Tutor of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of bachelor degree with more than a dozen years of teaching experience.

Talks + Lectures  

A sketchbook to keep the sanity - The article for Slon v Boa, Russian illustration portal, 2020     

Illustration as Business // Kachaem Prava - Open talk and workshop with Evgenia Barinova, founder of Illustrators Union at Design department of Lectorium, Novaya Gollandiya, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2019

Illustration Research Practice - Series of lectures and workshops, British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow, 2019

Things we don’t dare to talk about in Childrens’ books – Open lecture with Evgenia Barinova, MORS international festival of illustration, Moscow, 2018

Illustration à la Russe // A Salo Russkoe Edyat - Open lecture on the Russian national heritage and the way foreign illustrators are adapting it, Non-Fiction International Book Fair, Central House of Artists, Moscow, 2017

Hommage à Trinity, work in progress, sketch, 2019


Shadows and light, 2019

Collaborations + Art Directions

Notknowing - Live brief with BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, art directing editorial illustrations for an upcoming issue of the Notknowing Magazine, #4 Power, 2023

Young Adults - Live brief with BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, illustrating the young adults series of book covers for Mann, Ianov & Ferber publishing house, 2022

Theatre Ballet Riso Prints - Live brief with BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, designing the triptych of promo-posters for the Theatre Ballet Moscow, 2021

Emojinarium – Collaboration between the British higher school of Art and Design and Kingston University, leading a number of workshops together with Rachel Lillie, Elizabeth Zaft and Nathan Ward, online format, 2021

Celebrate the Tsaritsyno - Live brief with the final year of BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, designing the animations to promote and celebrate Tsaritsyno - one of the largest parks of Moscow, 2020

Notknowing - Live brief with the final year of BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, art directing editorial illustrations for an upcoming issue of the Notknowing Magazine, #2 Cringe, 2020

ZIL Cultural Center’s Cards - Live brief with BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, designing the set of promo-postcards for the Cultural Center ZIL, Moscow, 2019

Skating Rink - Live brief with Evgeniya Barinova and BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, making the informative promo animation for the largest skating rink in Gorky Park, Moscow, 2018

Project Graphics and Basics of Composition, Heuristic Design Principles – Annual series of workshops with the Fashion course of Universal University both online and offline, 2018-ongoing

El Lissitzky – Live brief  together with the State Tretyakov Gallery and BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, making promo animations for the retrospective of El Lissitzky’s works, Moscow, 2017

Shakespear’s Dream – Live brief together with the Teatre of Love under the direction of Martin Cooke, art directing a group of students, working together with the international group embodied electronic versions of William Shakespeare’s works, Moscow, 2017

Tapis Rouge – Live brief between the Atelier Tapis Rouge and BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, presenting contemporary carpets designs, Moscow, 2016

Bowers & Wilkins –  Live brief between Bowers & Wilkins and BA degree Illustration students of British Higher School of Art and Design, reinventing the way their iconic speakers look like, Moscow, 2015

Illustration Breakfasts - Weekly drawing club with Evgenia Barinova, Andrey Petranin, Susannah Garden, Arina Shabanova and Nastya Varlamova, Moscow, 2015-2018

Sketchbook series, work in progress, stencils, roller, etching ink, 2021

Exhibitions  

   
Storyline Soroka – Group exhibition of tutors, students and alumnus of British Higher School of Art and Design, Fumetto, Lucerne, Switzerland, 2015

Illustration Breakfasts - Group exhibition with Evgenia Barinova, Andrey Petranin, Susannah Garden and Nastya Varlamova at NII, Moscow, 2015


Hommage à Trinity, work in progress, spray paint, stencils, 2019


Daily sketchbook, work in progress, 2019

The Last Match – Group exhibition celebrating the rise and fall of matches. Riga, Latvia; Gallery Artside, Lisbon, Portugal; Next Comic Festival, Linz, Austria; Fumetto Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland; Comics Days, Haarlem, the Netherlands; Comicstage, Erlangen, Germany; Gallery MZIN, Leipzig, Germany; Contemporary Art Festival Artisterium, Tbilisi, Georgia; KomiksFest!, Prague, Czech Republic, 2010-11

Dind! Dong! Exhibition – Group project, Chistka Odezhdy gallery, Moscow, Russia, 2010 & Dom Rosta art space, St.Petersburg, Russia, 2010

EuroVelo Map – Mein Haus am See cafe-gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2010

Pereputanitza, Patterns – Group project, Dom cultural centre, Moscow, Russia, 2009

Matryoshkas – Private exhibition, Mesto gallery-store, Moscow, Russia, 2009

Russians – Group exhibition, Rotopol Gallery, Kassel, Germany, 2009

Witnessed from afar – The Carmichael gallery of contemporary art, West Hollywood, CA, USA, 2008

Song Book by Tzeh – Group project, Dom cultural centre, Moscow, Russia, 2007

So many selves – Personal exhibition, The Carmichael gallery of contemporary art, West Hollywood, CA, USA, 2007

The kindness of strangers – The Helm gallery, Tacoma, WA, USA, 2007

Sketchbook series, work in progress, stencils, roller, etching ink, 2021