Anastassia Zamaraeva Russian, b. 1993

Anastassia Zamaraeva is a London-based artist whose surreal ceramic sculptures resonate with a profound sense of intimacy and subconscious depth. She was born in Russia and spent her early years in Canada before relocating to the UK with her parents. Anastassia initially trained in architecture, but after finding that it wasn’t the right field for her, she reconnected with her childhood love for clay. Anastassia began working from a home studio in 2020, which developed her inward gaze and introspective approach to her practice. Being a self-taught artist has allowed Anastassia the freedom to work in a way that is intuitive to her, allowing her to challenge conventional boundaries without prescribed ideas about right and wrong. She explores interconnected themes of home, loss, gender and the body, allowing each piece to emerge organically, free from predetermined meaning. 

Anastassia has grown an international group of collectors and exhibited in a number of shows around the UK. In 2023, she received commissions from Underbanks Studios and Arc (Arts for Recovery in the Community) in Stockport, UK to develop new bodies of work. In the same year, she was shortlisted for the Emerging Maker Award at the International Ceramics Festival in Aberystwyth, Wales. Anastassia’s work has been written about in FAD magazine, Colossal and used as an example on the CBC television show ‘The Great Canadian Pottery Throwdown’. Anastassia holds an MA in Art Psychotherapy and is a practising art therapist. She facilitates a weekly therapeutic art studio group for adults with mental health difficulties, an experience that deeply influences her artistic process. For Anastassia, her practice as both an artist and art therapist forms a profound space where art and emotional healing converge, inviting viewers to explore both their own experiences and the broader human narrative.