ABOUT Pavuk.Studio
Inherited geometry. A new light.
Pavuk.Studio is a series of suspended light sculptures by Dariia Tsarenko. Its name refers to the traditional suspended straw structure known in Ukraine as a pavuk — literally, ‘spider’. Through light, movement and contemporary materials, the project carries its geometry into the present.
- Artist
- Dariia Tsarenko
- Based in
- Düsseldorf
- Practice
- Light sculpture / spatial installation
- Materials
- Glass, metal, paper, textiles, LED light, polymers and reclaimed materials
- Initiated
- 2022
- Formats
- Unique works, installations and commissions
From ritual form to light sculpture
The precise origin of the straw pavuk is unknown. Related suspended structures have long existed across the rural traditions of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, acquiring distinct names, forms and meanings in each region.
Made from straw and suspended inside the home, they moved with the slightest current of air. They were associated with well-being, protection and cycles of life; in Ukrainian tradition, the pavuk was traditionally hung in homes during the Christmas season.
Pavuk.Studio carries this historical geometry into the present, transforming it into a contemporary spatial and luminous form.
Light as the central material
Geometry, movement and balance remain, while scale, material and the relationship with the viewer change.
Dariia works with glass, metal, paper, textiles, LED light, polymers and reclaimed materials. Glass draws light into the form; metal reflects it; paper and textiles soften it; translucent surfaces diffuse or concentrate it.
Light is integral to the work. It fills the structure and radiates outwards. Pavuk.Studio becomes a source of light.
THE ARTIST
Dariia Tsarenko
Artist and creator of Pavuk.Studio. She lives and works in Düsseldorf.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Dariia sought a safe place for herself and her children. From 2022 to 2024, she worked as an art educator and served on the three-person board of OPORA Eberswalde, a Ukrainian cultural initiative that supported people forced by the war to rebuild their lives far from home.
During this period, she returned to the traditional practice of making a pavuk as a form of focused, collective making that connected people through history and culture. What began in cultural workshops gradually developed into a distinct artistic practice.
Dariia’s professional work across art education, design and sculptural projects dates back to 2004. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design and Architecture from the Ivan Trush Lviv State College of Decorative and Applied Arts and later studied Book and Easel Graphics at the Ukrainian Academy of Printing. This background informs Pavuk.Studio as a contemporary light practice and a personal way of remaining connected to her culture while allowing tradition to evolve.