Masha Granich (they/them) is a queer and trans Ukrainian immigrant and multidisciplinary artist, living and working in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang, otherwise known as Montreal. They work primarily in blue ballpoint pen, illustration, stained glass, metalwork, and found object installation. Their practice is an experiment in visual autofiction and world-building; drawing influence from immigrant and refugee experiences, oral tradition and a growing personal symbology grounded in ancestral and cultural legacies. Their practice is heavily influenced by a mix of Ukrainian and Slavic practices, which is often a chaotic coexistence of folklore, pagan and Orthodox ritual, and resistance.
They studied Publications and Printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto as a way to explore alternate personal narratives through storytelling and experimental bookmaking. They were the owner of Rest Stop, a multidisciplinary community space and studio located in the Plateau, Montreal. Their work has been shown at ARTCH edition 7 (2024), Galerie Powerhouse La Centrale (2025), and La Maison de la Culture du Plateau (2025), McBride Contemporary (2026), and La Maison de la Culture Marie-Uguay (2026).
Masha Granich’s work evolves through intuitive & lifelong visual exercises in world-building. They draw from personal reference images & memories to create scenes that exist in an imaginary world where all their works can exist simultaneously. This process seeks to create a space where tradition & folklore, auto-fiction, ancestral wisdom, & ordinary magic can be interwoven. To do so, they use a visual language made up of domestic & familiar symbols to create scenes where heritage, myth-making, & prayer can be reflected onto.
Working mainly with ballpoint pen, stained glass, installation, & found objects, their work aims to evoke cultural nostalgia, curiosity & healing for those who share parts of their queer or cultural identity, especially in wartime contexts. Their drawings are scraped into textured canvas using blue ballpoint pens & cradled in sculptural frames or repurposed found objects. They often use their family & community as icons, collaborations, & figure references in their process, & use their memories to build their visual narratives.
Masha’s current research is interested in the origins of tradition, Orthodoxy, superstition, & folklore. They use these knowledge forms to imagine & build alternate cultural mythologies that allow for play, humour & the reconciliation of traditionally conflicting parts of their identity. This research has led them to consider their practice of collecting as a cultural experience informed by ancestral tradition & identity, Granich is drawn to working with found objects & antiques as framing devices. These objects are filled with ghosts & memories, contributing their stories to a process of co-creation.