Sasha Zhitneva | Symbiotic Drift
Sasha Zhitneva is a Pennsylvania-based, Russian-born artist whose foundation in applied mathematics, modeling, graphic design, and animation informs her sculptural practice. While studying mathematics in Moscow, she came to view its clarity, precision, and structural beauty as an art form. Those qualities found material resonance in glass, which became her primary medium when she launched her career in New York.
Decades of working with fused glass taught her that even minor chemical mismatches can cause breakage or explosions. Embracing this risk, Zhitneva merges ancient, culturally revered glass with clear plastic from discarded containers, crafting hybrid sculptures that question notions of false compatibility. By entwining these distinct materials – glass with its resilience and capacity for renewal, plastic with its shallow mimicry and persistence – she reveals their shared agency and their ability to refract light, narratives, and meaning beyond human intention.
instagram: @sasha_ zhitneva | sashazhitneva.com
Myth Me Not (from the A PETting Bestiary series)
2025, reclaimed plastic containers, 5.5 × 4 × 3 ft (168 × 122 × 91 cm)
Courtesy of the artist
Courtesy of the artist
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