Olga Davydova’s work bursts with elegant geometry, bold, thoughtful color palettes, cleverly stylized flowers and animals, and a dash of inspiration from Russian, Eastern European, and Scandinavian folk art.
“I love floral ornaments, different kinds of stylized animals, and geometric shapes. My brain loves to stylize and 'code' images,” Olga says from her studio in Moscow. “And I'm very interested in different symbols that communicate everything that humans have in common. I'm currently reading Jung, and he discusses mythical creatures and other concepts that emerge as shared symbols across various cultures, which resonates with me as both a brand designer and multidisciplinary artist.”
With that in mind, it’s no doubt that Olga’s dream project is to design a full range of homewares for Swedish furniture brand IKEA. Known for its embrace of hygge — a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being — Olga sees her work helping to make a house into a warm, friendly, vibrant home. “I would love to create a collection of objects for home — bedding and cushions to plates and kitchenware, all in Scandinavian folk style patterns, but also looking very contemporary.”
Living in Moscow has influenced Olga’s approach to creative work in its own way. “I love Moscow because art is everywhere here,” she says. “And it's a pretty old city, so you can see culture from the depths of centuries and to nowadays. Things like electric buses alongside buildings from the 15th–18th centuries — I love that.”
“One of my favorite places is the Khudozhestvenny movie theater,” she continues. “It was opened in 1909, so it's one of the first cinema theaters in the world. And it's still functioning. It's very renowned. There are all kinds of movies you can see from all the history of cinema — you can see silent movies, and you can see contemporary movies as well. And Fellini in Italian with subtitles.”
While it’s less common now that Olga has children and a full client roster, there was a time where she went to all-night movie marathons at the Khudozhestvenny. “When I was a student, I used to go at 12am and watch three Tarantino movies in a row,” she says. “ And when it's 5am in the morning, you go home. I remember these nights very well.”
Moscow is also rich with museums and galleries. “My favorite is the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts,” she says. The Pushkinski, as it’s known locally, was founded in 1912 is located in the historical center of Moscow. Each year the museum presents world-class exhibitions to the public. “It's named after our Alexander Pushkin, and it has all kinds of arts from ancient Greece and Rome. I love the Egyptian area where you can see mummies, you can see ancient Fayum portraits.”
“I also love the Tretyakov Gallery,” she continues. “Pavel Tretyakov, he was a patron of art and philanthropist, and he supported artists in Russia — he collected their paintings. There are two buildings: one gallery consists of all Russian art from about the 15th century to the 19th. The New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val, dedicated to Russian art of the 20th and 21st centuries — Malevich, Goncharova, Kandinsky, all these kinds of constructivists and avant-garde artists.”
“We also have the Moscow Multimedia Art Museum and it shows a lot of contemporary artists,” she continues. “I was at the Veruschka photo exhibition some years ago, and Veruschka was there. It was great. I have a book that she signed.”
When it comes to client work, Olga is discerning about the purpose of her designs and about meeting the client’s expectations. “I’m careful if this industry is harmful, in my opinion,” she explains. “Maybe strong alcohol or cigarettes. And maybe if I see that a client needs something that is not my style, for instance if they need something hand drawn with ink, maybe another artist would be a better fit.”
Ink hand drawings aside, Olga’s style is versatile and is easily adaptable to commercial packaging, homeware, digital interfaces, and full brand suites for distinctive, eye-catching assets.
