Lora Zyuzina, Russia / France

Lora Zyuzina (b. 1985) is a ceramic sculptor based in Paris. Originally from Russia, she established herself in Moscow as a lead fashion designer, where she developed prêt-à-porter collections in collaboration with manufacturing facilities in Italy and Turkey.

In 2021, she shifted her creative focus entirely to ceramics, bringing with her a preference for multilayered approaches. She views the medium as a dialogue between the old and the new, a process where nothing disappears entirely and the ephemeral leaves a lasting trace.

In her practice, Zyuzina explores the themes of freedom of speech and censorship through the lens of street art. She perceives street art as a form of hidden self-expression, a way to share personal stories or highlight significant events. To her, the city is an archaeological site where one can "read" the lives of its people through the urban landscape.

​She is particularly interested in spontaneous inscriptions and the evolving commentary left on city walls, which she believes transforms urban surfaces into dynamic spaces for communication. Building on these observations, Zyuzina creates works that merge text with the weathered texture of the urban wall, shaping her own distinct informational message.

​Lora Zyuzina's residency at Atelier 11 is organized in partnership between L'AiR Arts and L’atelier des artistes en exil. 

Meet Lora at the Atelier 11 Open Studio in 2026 (date TBA)

In my works I explore the subjects of freedom of speech, self-restriction and restriction imposed by the state. My research spans across the themes of need of self-defining and self-expression through hiding identity via the street art.

I’ve never practiced street art myself, however it has always been a tool of visual archeology - prosopography in the reality that surrounds me. I have always considered this type of art as an encrypted message of urban life, where my personal stories as well as events happening in society can be hidden.

I explore logocentrism in street art, as well as the integration of non-artistic inscriptions left by ordinary people in street art objects, and the formation of a phenomenon like communication through texts on urban walls and beyond, where anyone can comment on the comments left behind. Based on this research, I fill the space of the created objects with images and words that create an informational and semantic field.