Lydia Gribkova was born and raised in St. Petersburg. She studied sculpture at the N.K. Roerich Art School, and later at the Stieglitz Academy. As a versatile artist, she currently leans towards graphic arts and painting, though she also delves into animation, illustration, sculpture, ceramic painting, theatrical art, and floristry.
The distinctive features of her graphic and painting works include seriality and stylistic versatility. A series is typically created in one place and time, with works produced successively. Within each series, the artist improvises based on unique rules, encompassing unified themes, a circle of images, and a consistent style characterized by the use of the same materials and uniform expressive means—composition, texture, form, and color. In the next series, the artist discards the rules of the previous one and plays anew, in a different style. However, the principles of a specific series are not entirely abandoned but temporarily set aside; sooner or later, the artist returns to a particular style or, more frequently, employs a fusion of past developments in a new series. Lydia Gribkova juggles styles, choosing what to explore artistically on any given day. Yet, this isn't about conventional standards; these styles aren't adopted from external sources but developed, merged, and synthesized by the artist during the creative process (or play, as Lydia Gribkova consistently emphasizes the importance of playfulness in art).
Despite the lack of overt continuity, Gribkova's work bears resemblance to the art of the so-called Leningrad Expressionists in many aspects. This includes flatness, simplicity of color, vivid expressiveness, psychological depth in composition and drawing, an inclination towards sketchiness, and a swift execution of work (preferring to select the best rather than toil over refining). However, without feeling constrained by tradition, the artist alternates between realism and abstraction in some series, shifting from figurative representations towards archetypal symbols.
Consistently, in her oeuvre, Lydia Gribkova explores several major themes, notably: motherhood and childhood (one of her favorite motifs being mother and child), man and woman, violence (including war), death, and loss. Music holds a special place in her art. Attending numerous musical events—concerts, rehearsals, dance parties, jam sessions—the artist portrays not only the musicians themselves but also, subconsciously, their music.