Zhanna Appaeva is a contemporary artist from Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. She graduated with honours from Kabardino-Balkarian State University, specialising in Decorative and Applied Arts and artistic metalworking.

Working primarily with acrylic on large-scale canvases, Appaeva explores the complexities of human nature, the relationship between external strength and inner vulnerability, and the coexistence of contrasting emotional states.

Her artistic practice includes the series "Centaurs: Outside / Inside", "Presence" and "The Attraction of the Limit". Through expressive figurative compositions, she investigates identity, psychological tension and the relationship between the individual and their surroundings.