Liza Merkalova's work is very Russian, with stylistic and expressive elements of late 19th century nationalist painters that explored a folk/religious art tradition, and spinning a reflective fusion with the work of the Europeans; Chagall, the Fauvists, Modigliani, Cezanne, rigorously unified and synthesized into her own expression. 

The work is ambitious, and although some of the works are portraitist, they are as much reflections of the personality of the artist; not merely a likeness of a familiar subject, but expression with strong humanistic resonance and a connection to a Russian tradition, and awareness of and faith in the connection between the Arts, the Mind and the Spirit being part of the attempt at a unified psyche; personality, awareness, suffering, patience and aspiration to the subtle and the refined. This could be seen as nostalgia, affectation and sentiment, but this is avoided by the rigour of her concentration, application to purpose and is supported by a sound technique.

This is all also the reason in the current art world of pragmatic cynicism and the cult of flashy celebrity, that the understated sincerity and quieter achievement-based ethic of artists like Liza Merkalova (all too often drowned out by the gaudy screaming of those less-deserving fighting in the arena of hype for the attention of arts patrons and glitterati) are worthy of attention.

— Michal Dutkiewicz