Olga Yukhno

Olga Yukhno is an artist originally from Russia. She has spent the past two decades dedicated to her passion for art. Yukhno has had the honor of training and studying under some of the most prominent artists in the United States and Europe, focusing on learning primarily ceramics and metalworking. She has also attended some of the leading art and craft schools in the USA, including Penland School for Craft, Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft, and Pocosin School of Fine Craft. She has participated in various exhibitions across the United States as well as Russia, including 8 solo exhibitions, and received numerous awards in juried shows. Yukhno’s work and her thoughts on art have been featured in several radio, podcast and TV interviews as well as multiple articles and art publications. Currently, Olga Yukhno is a sculpture instructor at Columbia Art Center, SC. 

Olga Yukhno is a multi-disciplinary artist originally from Russia. Her work includes sculpture, installation and public art. 

olgayukhno.com 

@olgayukhnostudio 

Artist Statement

This series responds to the current climate surrounding immigration by focusing on the human cost that is so often ignored. Policies and rhetoric reduce people to numbers or talking points, overlooking the lives they have built, the communities they belong to, and the years of care, labor, and presence they have given. When someone is detained or deported, the harm does not end with that single act, it ripples outward, unsettling families, friends, and neighbors, and forcing countless thousands of others to live quietly in fear. 

These works are not meant to argue statistics, but to hold space for grief, uncertainty, and loss. Each story carries a weight that spreads through a community, disrupting trust and belonging in ways that are slow, deep, and lasting. The piece reflects the quiet breaking of something once believed in, the idea of safety, opportunity, and dignity. At its core, this series asks viewers to sit with discomfort, to recognize shared humanity, and to consider how far these realities drift from the promise of a place where hope and possibility are meant to take root. 


Presented by the Jasper Project, The Degenerate Art Project II is the answer to an overwhelming request by artists and patrons of Jasper's inaugural Degenerate Art Project (July 2025) for an additional exhibition which will involve an open call for visual artists. This 3 week-long multidisciplinary arts event (Feb. 11–28 at Stormwater Studios) invites Midlands artists to respond to today's socio-political climate, and unite our local arts community—physically and in spirit—in support and solidarity during challenging times. Inspired by—and reclaiming—the legacy of the Nazi-labeled "Degenerate Art" of 1937, this project champions creative resistance and free expression through a visual art exhibition, featuring over 40 Midlands artists.