Tania Yakunova

Tania Yakunova was born and raised in Kyiv and became a full-time illustrator in 2014 after years in the creative industry. Her practice moves between illustration, fine art, ceramics, books, editorial commissions, and objects, with major clients including Apple, Google, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, and Deloitte.

After the war in Ukraine began, Tania eventually made her way to London with Arts Council England endorsement. That move sits quietly behind the newer work: images that return to nature, memory, childhood, and the question of where a person feels held. She grew up on a tiny street next to a huge forest, and the connection to that place has become part of the work again.

In 2026, Saatchi Art selected her as one of its Rising Stars. The recognition fits a practice that can look soft at first but carries real discipline underneath: carefully built color, figure, atmosphere, and a sense that beauty can still make room for unease.