Irina
Razumovskaya

Something ancient and unresolved moves through the ceramic world of Irina Razumovskaya. Her sculptures crack, erode, and quietly rise again carrying female identity, cultural memory, and histories long left unspoken. Working intuitively with clay, she reclaims a material historically made by women for ritual and sacred use, pushing it into a space where decay becomes beauty and fracture becomes resilience. Each piece grows through a dialogue between earth and memory.

Which place do you currently call home, and where do you work on your  projects?

London is home now, and I’m a big fan of my area, SE1. I have a small studio on the ground floor of my house, and my larger studio is just down the road in a beautiful space run by the charity Tannery Arts, in a redeveloped old pickle factory. 

Where is your studio located & how does it look?

My small studio is on the ground floor of my house, a live/work unit with a dedicated workspace. It’s compact but it fits everything I need, and it became essential when my daughter was little, since I could mostly work after she went to bed in the evenings. It still plays a huge role in my practice. 

My second studio is much larger, in a beautiful, clean, spacious building that used to be a pickle factory. It’s my first really “proper” studio. Before this I always occupied semi-dilapidated, abandoned buildings that had been rescued for artist studios, so this one feels almost luxurious.

Are there any projects that are personally important to you, whether recently  completed or currently in progress?

Yes, absolutely. I’m at quite a pivotal moment in my practice, because so much has shifted in my personal life over the past few years, and it has completely changed my interests and, in a way, my aesthetic. 

It started with the war between Russia and Ukraine. Being a Russian person, the pain I carry for what my country has done has affected me deeply and traumatised me. Soon after came the loss of my firstborn daughter, which opened a gap of more than a year where I couldn’t make art at all. I felt like I had grown out of what I used to do, and I didn’t know what shape my new work would take. 

What feels exciting and refreshing is that over the past year this crisis has started to shift, and I find myself moved and inspired to make again. I’m working on a new series of pieces that will culminate in a solo show at the Westerwald Museum in Germany.

The work explores the taboos and social anxiety around child loss, and the difficult histories tied to female bodies, female anatomy, and the traumatic medical and social practices imposed on them. My recent project, Disciplined, reflects on the practice of punitive gynaecology that took place in the Soviet Union. 

Do you have a favourite place in your area where you like to relax and linger?

Honestly, my whole area feels made for it. It’s a beautiful neighbourhood with a layered industrial history, full of old ports and warehouses, and now it’s packed with independent restaurants, coffee shops, gardens, and small hidden spots. 

I love the original Watch House coffee shop at the bottom of Bermondsey Street. I also walk my dog along the Thames, down Tower Bridge Road, and when the tide is low we take long walks along the shore. Another hidden gem is the Red Cross Garden, beautifully maintained and tucked right in the middle of central London. 

A few more I send everyone to Le Gare in Shad Thames, a tiny modern restaurant where the food is always a treat. Dynamic Vines, my not-so-guilty pleasure, tucked into one of the arches in Spa Terminus, a huge warehouse where they run wine tastings every Saturday and I get to learn about whatever’s interesting and trendy. And my secret ramen spot, Tokoton Ramen SE1 you’d never find it unless you know, but once you know, you always go. Beautiful selection of ramen and sake. 

For gentle linger-time Bermondsey Corner, right next to White Cube, is my favourite spot for a lazy morning coffee or a cheeky evening glass of wine. And Sollip, if I’m splurging, a Michelin-starred modern Korean fusion restaurant where both the food and the ceramics they serve it on feel like a treat for every sense. Gallery-wise, White Cube Bermondsey is the obvious one but I bloody love it. I sometimes just go in there to think.

The art is amazing but the space itself, with its polished concrete floors, is to die for. Copperfield Gallery on Copperfield Street is a lovely smaller space you’d never find unless someone told you, with consistently great shows. And of course Drawing Room, the gallery in the building where my studio is, always has something cool on view. 

Are there any urgent political issues or problems in your region?

Of course, plenty. The one that feels most pressing and painful for me right now is the sharp rise in antisemitism. I’m Jewish by heritage, and although I’m not religious, I have a deep connection to my background. Watching antisemitic incidents spike almost weekly is horrifying, to the point that my family and I are scared to show any signs of our Jewish identity in order to protect our little daughter.

In your opinion, what has developed well in the last 5 years, and what has not?

That’s a broad one. The thing that’s gone well, for me personally, is AI. I’m a genuinely enthusiastic AI user. As someone with ADHD, finishing and polishing things has always been the hardest part for me, while having ideas and being creative is where I’m happiest.

AI has helped me lean into my strongest sides and get support with the finishing and formatting that used to drag me down. It’s made me feel more gathered and put together. What hasn’t gone well is the overload of information. I think we are losing common sense, losing the ability to mentalise each other, to treat other opinions as mutually valuable, to respect the person on the other side, to actually hear each other. That’s painful to watch. 

Do you know a hidden gem when it comes to local manufacturers, whether it’s  arts and crafts, sustainable products, or food?

Yes, a market called Spa Terminus, in my area. It’s where all the local food producers are based, and because of council rules they have to open their doors once a week and sell directly. Incredible bakeries, oil shops, wild mushroom sellers, cheesemongers, everything you could want. 

Inside and around it: Natoora, for fruit and veg that’s genuinely beautiful, and Wild Room, a small business selling seasonal wild mushrooms. I forage mushrooms myself and I’m a huge fan of what they do. 

On the fashion and craft side, I love Roksanda: her sample sales are one of my favourite times of the year. I also have a favourite jeweller right around the corner from me, Ros Millar, who made my engagement ring and every other meaningful piece since. 

Is there anything particularly innovative in your region? Also in comparison to other places you have already visited?

If we’re calling London the region, what feels innovative to me is the sense of freedom you get from living here. It’s such an international place, and it doesn’t really exist as one centralised city, but more as a cluster of small neighbourhoods, each with its own culture, spirit, and little secrets. 

People mostly live with respect for each other, or at least with a healthy indifference, because the diversity is so vast you simply accept it. That gives you this incredible freedom to be yourself and to discover who you are. It also makes you curious about other people’s lives, because on a single street you might have twenty families with totally different backgrounds, beliefs, lifestyles, fashions. I find it endlessly fascinating. 

Do you have a secret restaurant tip that you would like to share with us?

There’s a place five minutes from my house called Flour and Grape. It’s the most delicious pasta restaurant I’ve ever tried, and I go to Italy more than five times a year, so that says something. They don’t take reservations and it’s basically impossible to get in for dinner, so we practise our own ritual: brasta, breakfast pasta. We go at 12 o’clock and have a pasta brunch. Absolutely incredible. 

Is there a local shop whose products are only available in your region?

I’m 15 minutes from Borough Market, which is full of shops like that. If I had to pick a specific one, I love Neal’s Yard, a cosmetics store with beautiful fragrances and very natural ingredients. It’s an English brand and I’m a huge fan. 

I’m also in love with Borough Kitchen, who sell wonderful home accessories. Their locally made knives are a particular obsession. And for flowers, Igloo Flowers, in one of the arches near Maltby Street: the most elegant flowers I’ve ever seen, insane colours and varieties.

What are your 3 favourite apps that you use every day and couldn’t live without?

I won’t be original here: WhatsApp, Claude, Instagram. 

Do you have any favourite newspapers or online magazines? And how do you  keep up to date with politics or social and cultural issues?

For Russian politics, which I still follow closely, I’m subscribed to a few Telegram channels and to TV Rain, the only liberal, opposition Russian TV channel. Beyond that, I read across The Guardian, BBC, and Financial Times. For culture, I tend to scroll through digests like Frieze and Art Basel updates. 

When I’m working in the studio, I always have The Rest Is History podcast on. I still don’t remember many of the details (history is hard to hold on to), but it absolutely helps me focus. 

Imagine you could be mayor for a year, what would you change?

Honestly, you can’t change much in one year. But if I had slightly more political power, say Prime Minister, I would revisit the politics around gender rights, specifically maternity and paternity leave in England. The laws still feel quite patriarchal, even though everyone loves to talk about equality. 

It was a shock to discover that in most workplaces mothers get up to a year of almost full pay (it depends on the employer, but often that’s the case), while fathers are entitled by law to only two weeks, with some workplaces stretching it to a couple of months. I would make it mandatory that both parents get equal rights, equal pay, and equal leave when raising a child. 

The other thing I’d change is the law around euthanasia. People should have the choice over whether to live or not, and they should be able to make that decision freely, without judgement, and without having to prove themselves. 

If you could choose another place to live, regardless of financial or time constraints, which one would you choose?

Probably another big city. I’d really enjoy Paris, and if money was truly no object, New York would do. Honestly though, I love London. And on the other hand, if I had to leave, I think I could be happy almost anywhere. I’ve lived in so many places, and they all turn out to be much of a muchness in the end. You can’t escape yourself.