I am Lilya Matveeva, a visual narrative artist and illustrator based in Berlin.
I work across illustration, graphic novels and painting.
I was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
In 2022 I left Russia in political exile, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the intensifying repression at home. That rupture is not a backdrop to my work — it is part of its subject.
Much of my practice is built around memory and human rights. I worked as an illustrator for Memorial, the historical and human-rights organisation forcibly shut down by the Russian state, making courtroom drawings, portraits of political prisoners and other drawing work. I have collaborated with Amnesty International, Transparency International, the Civil Society Forum and cultural and memorial institutions across Europe.
In 2025 my graphic novel Rose + Robert. Liebe in Zeiten der Kriege (Schiler & Mücke) was published in Germany — a true story of love interrupted by state violence, between the GDR and West Germany. Since then I have held readings and book presentations at cultural and educational institutions across the country.
Alongside this, I am developing a painting practice in oil, watercolour and gouache, looking at urban fauna and shared habitats in the city — the relationship between human and non-human life.
Member of BBK Berlin (Professional Association of Visual Artists) and the Illustratoren Organisation e.V.
Languages: Russian (native), English (fluent), German (B2), Polish (B2).
I am open to illustration commissions, book collaborations and long-term cultural projects.
