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Lina Gelfer Biography

Lina Gelfer is a self-taught artist who began painting at the age of 76, after a life-changing brain surgery that left her in a wheelchair and living in a long-term care facility in California. Before this transformation, she lived a completely different life — as a professor of mathematics and physics in the USSR. Her former world was defined by logic and precision. Art was never part of her plan.

During rehabilitation, Lina picked up a pencil. What started as a small gesture grew into an unstoppable drive. Within two years, she created more than 300 drawings and paintings — often from her bed, between therapy sessions, and under the effects of chemotherapy. Her works quickly evolved from doodles into large, vibrant canvases, revealing an intuitive and expressive visual language.

Lina’s art is now seen as part of the outsider art tradition — created outside academic training. Her growth as an artist is striking: from spontaneous sketches to complex, emotionally rich paintings.
Recurring themes in her art include: masks and duality, circus scenes and musicians, cosmic imagery and improvisation. Her style is instantly recognizable: bold colors, swirling movement, surreal characters.
Her artworks were featured in two exhibitions at the Palo Alto Art Center (June 2023 and May 2025), where they stood out for their authenticity, rawness, and emotional depth. Today, Lina continues to create from her care facility. For her, art has become a language, a companion, and a legacy.