Daria Grechaninova or DARÖNA (b. 1996, Ryazan, Russia) is a multimedia artist based in Vienna, Austria. From early childhood, she explored creative disciplines, winning city-wide competitions in papier-mâché before studying academic painting and costume design at the kunstschule.wien.
Feeling constrained by academic rules, she shifted to courses in costume design, pattern making, and sewing.
After a break to study pedagogy and foreign languages, an art history course reignited her passion, leading her back to the arts. Since 2019, she has lived in Vienna, studying painting, experimental film, and animation at the art school.
Her artistic practice functions as a visual newspaper or personal diary, capturing emotions, thoughts, lived experiences, and reflections on the world. Recurring themes in her work include body awareness, feminism, femininity, sexual violence, war, and relationships.
Through vibrant colors, she softens the harsh edges of societal flaws, offering a perspective that is both critical and hopeful.Daria draws inspiration from Renaissance art—its techniques, its deep engagement with the ego, and its challenge to divine supremacy. She is also influenced by the folklore of her native culture, where stories of kindness triumphing over darkness coexist with an understanding that darkness, too, has its reasons. Love and sexuality, as well as the raw and instinctive nature of human beings, serve as additional sources of inspiration.
Working across painting, photography, design, sculpture, film, and animation, her work remains consistently bright and filled with a sense of renewal. Since leaving her home country, she has navigated personal shifts and ruptures, frequently questioning her identity and purpose. This introspection manifests in her art as a process of reflection—an invitation for viewers to engage with their own transformations and, ultimately, a reminder that no matter what one has endured, everything will be fine.
She has exhibited internationally, including NFT – New Freedom Think and BRAIN CAKE (M.A.D.S. Art Gallery, Milan & Barcelona, 2022) and her solo exhibition Reflections (Vienna, 2025).
