ELLEN SHEIDLIN (born in 1994) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the intersection of realism, virtuality and the world of dreams.
In 2012, Sheidlin began her artistic career as a photographic artist, developing a distinctive creative approach she calls “Survirtualism.” Her intricately constructed self-portraits—often performative and referencing imagery from both classical and pop culture—have earned her an international online following of millions, along with recognition in the professional art community.
Sheidlin’s first solo exhibition took place in St. Petersburg in 2017, followed by shows in Tokyo, New York, Paris, Florence, London, Melbourne, Palermo, Bangkok, Dubai, and this year’s major solo exhibition, “Unconditional,” in Seoul. Since 2018, Sheidlin has also incorporated painting into her practice, and in 2021–2022, she honed her skills at the Florence Classical Arts Academy.
The artist’s work has been influenced by European Surrealism – Sheidlin shares an interest in the unconscious, magical realism and dreams, depicting impossible landscapes, distorting perspectives and disorienting the viewer with unexpected combinations of colours and objects. One of Ellen's famous photographs, “Magritte’s Breaths” (2021), is a literal reference to the work of one of the key Surrealists.
Another source of her inspiration is contemporary art of Asia, where the artist has spent considerable time, particularly in Thailand, South Korea and Japan. Sheidlin's works are characterised by a blurring of the boundaries between reality and mythology, typical of Asian visual culture, a combination of technological and traditional media, and the concept of animism, or the animation of nature.
Another source of her inspiration is contemporary art of Asia, where the artist has spent considerable time, particularly in Thailand, South Korea and Japan. Sheidlin's works are characterised by a blurring of the boundaries between reality and mythology, typical of Asian visual culture, a combination of technological and traditional media, and the concept of animism, or the animation of nature.
Since 2022, Sheidlin has been creating large-scale multimedia murals using her technique of “automatic digital drawing”. A graphic sketch, drawn intuitively with closed eyes, similar to Surrealist automatic writing, is further developed based on associations suggested by unconscious lines and forms. Creating works in a new medium while maintaining her distinctive style, the artist gradually moves from figurative towards more abstract compositions, now both digital and painted on canvas.
Sheidlin’s work reflects on the role of art in society and the ways in which it can shape our perception of the world. The mixture of the digital and the physical, the dream-like and the real, the material and the intangible, in the long term produces an ever-wondering projection of versatile personality for the viewer themselves: each of us can hold many different facets, sensations and worlds within ourselves. In the parallel universe of Sheidlin, there is nothing stopping us to change skin, personality, character or even species
- note digital art researchers and Art Dubai 2024 curators Alfredo Cramerotti (Chair of the AICA Digital Strategies Committee, Advisor to the UK Government Art Collection) and Auronda Scalera (Co-curator of the Decentral Art Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Director of the first blockchain museum, Infinity Art Museum) in the “Crypto Art Monograph on Ellen Sheidlin” (2023).
Between March and May 2025, Sheidlin's series of paintings—including works created as continuations of her digital murals—was presented at her major solo exhibition “Unconditional” at Tang Contemporary Art gallery in Seoul, one of the largest art galleries in Asia.
“Unconditional” is not merely a visual experience - it is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of perception itself. By challenging traditional notions of beauty and reality, the series offers fresh insights into the human condition and the transformative potential of art
- highlight the exhibition's curators Yonni Park (Director of Tang Contemporary Art) and Jeeeun Hong (Director of Gyeonggi Gwangju Cultural Foundation).
In 2025–2026, Sheidlin continues to expand her multidisciplinary practice through public art projects that explore the use of unconventional materials and experimental techniques of integration, to be presented later in European and Gulf countries.