Nail art usually means putting something on top of the nail. But Lesia Pyskun, a nail designer in New York, works the shape of the nail itself. She crumples and tears the surface she has just perfected. In an age that prizes the well-groomed nail, it is the crumpled and cut ones that hold your gaze.
Her press-on collections look like a tiny exhibition of objects at the fingertips. Nails studded with rows of silver needles, steel-ball 'bubbles', Tiffany blue spikes, and a black metal sphere engraved with the Gucci logo. Each design is less decoration and more a standalone sculpture. The nail becomes not a canvas but the material itself.
Lesia Pyskun is an art director of the Ukrainian-born nail studio MVK and a session manicurist. Her work frequently appears on fashion runways and editorial shoots. An intentionally damaged form leaves a stronger impression than a perfectly polished surface. The nail is no longer an object to be groomed but a field for experiment.
How far do you think a nail can be transformed?
Her press-on collections look like a tiny exhibition of objects at the fingertips. Nails studded with rows of silver needles, steel-ball 'bubbles', Tiffany blue spikes, and a black metal sphere engraved with the Gucci logo. Each design is less decoration and more a standalone sculpture. The nail becomes not a canvas but the material itself.
Lesia Pyskun is an art director of the Ukrainian-born nail studio MVK and a session manicurist. Her work frequently appears on fashion runways and editorial shoots. An intentionally damaged form leaves a stronger impression than a perfectly polished surface. The nail is no longer an object to be groomed but a field for experiment.
How far do you think a nail can be transformed?
FAQ
What style of nail art does Lesia Piskun do?
Lesia Piskun doesn't paint on nails—she crumples and tears the nail form itself. She creates sculptural press-on collections like 'bubbles' with silver needles or metal beads dangling, Tiffany-blue spikes, and black steel spheres engraved with Gucci logos, treating nails as three-dimensional objects.
Where does Lesia Piskun work?
Lesia Piskun is a New York–based nail designer. She is art director of MVK, a Ukrainian-born nail studio, and works as a session manicurist for fashion shows and editorial shoots.
What is MVK nail studio?
MVK is a Ukrainian-born nail studio with Lesia Piskun as art director. It's known for experimental nail art that sculpturally transforms the nail form itself.
