Common Language is a mixed media installation, using sculpture, fiber, neon, painting, found objects and video. The project explores how trauma and rage, especially during war and political unrest can be transformed through play and humor. Can we offer care despite discomfort? Can we heal and connect, or are we trapped by Capitalism in systems of separation? Through emotion, intuition, and memory, Common Language seeks to dissolve borders and imagine new forms of collective home and belonging.
Katya Grokhovsky inspires through Art, Education and Cultural Exploration, WowArt, May 2025
Office Hours: Students connect with faculty in unique space, Grand Valley Magazine, March 2025
Artist-in-residence opens installation at downtown gallery, FORUM, GVSU, January 2025
Local Artist Highlight: Katya Grokhovsky, October 2024, The Rapidian
Artists Come Home to KCAD, Grand Rapids Magazine, September 2024
GV Artist-in-Residence hopes to inspire, educate future artists, Lanthorn, August 2024
New Padnos Distinguished Artist-in-Residence eager to embed in community, guide students, GVNext, June 2024
Common Language, 2025, wood, leather, found materials, clothing, toys, acrylic, wall paint, epoxy, neon, parachute, fabric, aprons, lace, foam, plaster bandages, canvas, wallpaper, print on peel and stick wallpaper. Photos Bryan Esler. Exhibited at Padnos Student Gallery of Art & Design, Calder Arts Center, Grand Valley State University. Developed and presented as part of 2024/2025 Padnos Distinguished Artist in Residence at GVSU, Allendale, MI.
Common Language, 2025, performance for video. Performers Kate Brewer, Claire West. Filmed on campus at GVSU, Allendale, MI.
My American Dream, 2025, found objects, clothing, toys, performance, sound, 30 mins. Performed at 106 Gallery, Avenue for the Arts, Grand Rapids, MI.Photos Veronica Anderson. Developed during a 2024/2025 Padnos Distinguished Artist in Residence at GVSU, Allendale, MI.