TATY Tatyana Horoshko Honors the Inimitable Iris Apfel

A Conversation with TATY Tatyana Horoshko

Tell me about this portrait of Iris Apfel How did you come to create it?

Iris Apfel was a muse, mentor, and a living testament to ageless creativity and style.

With Errol Rappaport, my husband Alexander Gegera, and my daughter Renee, we brought her portrait to The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, where Annie Watt honored her remarkable 101.5 years.

That evening, over dinner, we toasted her radiant spirit. Wearing Dries Van Noten dress and her signature red manicure, Iris was unforgettable.

She later told me my portrait was her favorite — and kept it by her bedside until her passing.

You have a remarkable talent for portraits, and you do so many — from celebrities to socialites to veteran, and even religious figures . Which is your favorite genre to paint and why?

Portraiture is my first language. No matter the subject, I’m always searching for the same thing: truth.

I don’t separate people into categories like celebrity or religious figure. For me, each person carries a story, a weight, a presence that deserves to be seen. A veteran holds strength and sacrifice. A spiritual leader holds depth and light. A public figure carries projection and perception. My role is to look beyond all of that and find the human core.

If I had to choose, I would say I am most drawn to individuals with strong inner worlds — people who have lived, endured, built something, or transformed themselves. Those faces speak. And when a painting begins to “look back” at you, that’s when I know it’s alive.

You also do flowers, landscapes, fashion collage and more. Is there something you would like to try that you have yet to really explore?

I am very interested now in expanding into publishing.

Together with my husband, we created and published the book Monsignor Hilary C. Franco: 70 Years of Ordination to the Priesthood, where I served as editor and co-author. It was a meaningful experience — combining visual storytelling with historical narrative.

I am also developing a series of children’s books, fully illustrated by me. Several are already in progress. This direction allows me to bring together art, storytelling, and emotion in a more intimate and lasting form.

For me, it’s a natural evolution — moving from single images into complete worlds.

Can you tell me a bit about Portrait of Freedom Inc.?

Portrait of Freedom Inc. is very close to my heart. It is a nonprofit I created to use art as a form of recognition, healing, and dignity.

Through portraiture, we honor individuals whose stories might otherwise go unseen — veterans, survivors, people who have endured hardship or shown extraordinary courage. A portrait has power. It says: you matter, your story matters, you are seen.

In a world that moves quickly, art allows us to pause and truly acknowledge someone’s life. That is the mission — to give visibility, respect, and a sense of permanence to those who deserve it.

Your family escaped the Soviets and came from Ukraine to the United States as a child.  Have you been back or are you doing anything related to the current war?

My family came to the United States as refugees, fleeing Soviet repression, antisemitism, and political persecution. My mother, Valentina Horoshko, was a medical doctor and a senior lieutenant in the reserves; my father, Boris Bronzaft, was an engineer and designer.

My grandfather served as Vice Mayor of Kyiv from 1935 to 1937 before being arrested and sent to the Gulag as a political prisoner. He was pardoned ten years later, after Stalin’s death. On my father’s side, half of the family was executed by the Nazis during the occupation of Kyiv in World War II.

We left the Soviet Union with one suitcase, $300, and a profound hope for a great future.

Ukraine’s independence was a defining moment for us. Today, the war has awakened very deep emotions in me. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to use my voice — to bear witness, to show the human cost of conflict, and to stand in support of Ukraine in every way I can.

Having grown up in New York, I remain deeply connected to my Ukrainian roots. That history lives in my work, in my values, and in my sense of purpose.

Do you have any new shows or projects underway or coming up soon?

Yes — currently I am developing a deeply personal and important body of work: a collection of linogravure prints and pastel drawings centered on the Holocaust, World War II, and the Israeli hostages of October 7.

This series is rooted not only in history, but in my own family story. My uncle, Leonid Khoroshko, was taken by the Nazis in 1941 to a labor camp at just 17 years old. After being identified as Jewish, he was sent to a death camp. He stood in line for the gas chambers — waiting to be killed — but by what can only be described as fate, the camp ran out of space that day. He, along with others, was left for the next morning. That next day, the U.S. Army and Allied forces liberated the camp.

His five-hour testimony is now part of the archives at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

This work is more raw and symbolic than my portraiture. I am using bold, minimal lines — stripped of excess — to allow emotion and memory to speak directly. The medium itself, especially linogravure, carries a sense of permanence and gravity that feels necessary for these subjects.

It is not an easy series to create, but it is necessary. As an artist, I believe we have a responsibility not only to capture beauty, but also to bear witness.

This collection is intended for exhibition and reflection — something that invites viewers to pause, remember, and feel.

Where can people see your work online or in-person on a permanent basis?

My work can be viewed through my studio platform, TatyDesignStudio, as well as through private collections and select exhibitions.

Much of what I create is commission-based or placed directly with collectors, so it lives in private interiors — homes, estates, spaces where it becomes part of someone’s daily life.

I also share curated works and projects online, where people can follow the evolution of my practice and upcoming releases. I’m also available for commissions. Visit tatydesignstudio.com.

Do you have anything to add?

Art, to me, is about presence.

In a world that is increasingly fast and digital, a portrait slows time. It asks you to look, to feel, to connect. That is something we are in danger of losing — and something I am committed to preserving.

Whether I am painting a global icon like Iris Apfel or an unknown hero, the intention is the same: to create something timeless, something that holds a soul.

Because in the end, beauty is not just what we see — it is what we recognize.