Her work has been described as "strik[ing] the kind of delicate balance between the real and surreal which can evoke a feeling that something is not quite right even before one has the chance to figure out why".
[1] Because her works were painted "in a figurative primitivist manner while often depicting grotesque imagery, Nesterova was sometimes accused of undermining the foundations of Russian professional artistic training".
[2] Nesterova's first solo exhibition was held at the Artists’ House on Kuznetsky Bridge in 1974.
[2] After traveling to New York City for an exhibition at the Hal Bromm Gallery in 1988,[1] she spent much of her life between Russia and the United States.
[5][6] Fearing retaliation from the Russian government due to her criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, Nesterova settled in the United States in 2022.