My artistic journey began in 1997 with graffiti, where I built my career and a team. In 2010, I transitioned from street art to studio work, leaving spray paint behind and embracing acrylics. This shift was prompted by a desire to create art that could be appreciated more deeply, with attention to detail and the way paint interacts with the surface.
Frustrated by the ephemeral nature of graffiti, I began painting on canvases and exploring abstract art. This move away from figurative painting allowed me to break free from limitations and pursue a broader, more emotionally driven creative process. It was during this time that I first experimented with abstraction, driven by intuition and a desire to create without boundaries.
Influenced by the American school of abstraction and its dedicated artists, I embarked on a journey of intellectual and artistic growth. Through studying the history of art, I discovered new perspectives and inspiration, fostering a deep appreciation for the creative process.
Abstract art, for me, is an exploration of emotions and the relationships between color, shape, and process. Rather than being tied to a specific object or subject, my work is driven by curiosity and the desire to create. Each piece begins with the preparation of the studio and the choice of canvas size and color, setting the stage for a dance between artist and canvas.
Throughout this process, I often feel like a mediator or a conduit for creativity, rather than the direct source. My art is an intuitive exploration of possibilities, and just as a musician creates a symphony, my paintings are composed of pigments, colors, and the interactions between them.
As an artist, I seek to engage viewers in a dialogue that transcends a specific subject, delving into their emotions and personal experiences. I embrace the unknown, the imperfections, and the discoveries that arise in the process, ultimately creating a symphony of color, shape, and emotion that resonates with those who encounter my work.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
11-03 till 08-04
Ground Line @ Speerstra Gallery, Paris, France
2022
The Fear of the Fog @ Woldt Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
Closed Doors @ DK Gallery, Minsk
2021
Another Output @ Triumph Gallery, Moscow
2020
Horizons / Ground Line @ National Centre of Contemporary Art state museum, Minsk
2019
Horizons @ DK Gallery, Minsk
2018
Liaigre Show @ 5th Avenue Atelier, Moscow
Variations @ Speerstra Gallery, Bursins, Switzerland
2016
Shift @ MSK Eastside Gallery, Moscow
2015
Visual Attractions @ Speerstra Gallery, Bursins, Switzerland
Reflections @ Charisma Art Space, Moscow
Black @ 3.14 Project Space, Moscow
2014
Metalism @ MSK Eastside Gallery, Moscow
2013
Abstractism @ Speerstra Gallery, Bursins, Switzerland
Abstract Spray Painting @ Montana Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Intersections @ Mobilab Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland
Paper Works @ Speerstra Gallery, Paris
Public Art @ Belyaevo Gallery, Moscow
2021
House NR.6 @ MIIT, Moscow
Moscow – Seoul: Common Ideas @ Museum of Moscow
Pioneers @ Lida Historical and Art Museum, Belarus
2020
Group show @ Lida Historical and Art Museum, Belarus
“The 101” @ Adda Sarto Gallery, Paris, France
Nothing Box @ Basmanny Dvor, Moscow
2019
Exposición cajita/libro objeto @ Desván Blanco, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Border @ National Palace of Art, Minsk, Belarus
2018
Camino Hacia Oriente @ La Recova art center, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
2017
UPAW @ Prince Albert II of Monaco foundation, Monaco
Mirus Gallery Anniversary @ Mirus Gallery, San Francisco
2015
New Wave Uncut @ MSK Eastside Gallery, Moscow
Urbanism @ Museum Moscow, Moscow
2014
A Major Minority @ 1AMSF Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2013
ST.Art 2013 European contemporary art fair, Strasbourg, France
Summer Group Show @ Speerstra Gallery, Bursins, Switzerland
2008
Paint Methods, Krasnoyarsk
Just Write My Name, Saint-Petersbourg
2007
Write 4 Gold, Chemnitz, Germany
Write 4 Gold, Moscow, Russia
Write 4 Gold, Warsaw, Poland
Graffiti Art group show @ Winzavod Contemporary Art Centre, Moscow, Russia
2006
Street Art group show @ The State Tretyakov Gallery
Write 4 Gold, Warsaw, Poland
Meeting of Styles intl., Chemnitz, Germany
Meeting of Styles intl., Lyon, France
2005
Meeting of Styles Minsk, Belarus
2004
Vodka & Fish Tail @ National Palace of Art, Minsk, Belarus
Meeting of Styles Gomel, Belarus
2003
Realization @Extreme center, Moscow
Meeting of Styles Gomel, Belarus
Kofemolka, Cheboksary, Russia
2002
Meeting of Styles intl., Anwerpen, Belgium
Meeting of Styles intl., Almere / Amsterdam, Netherland
Meeting of Styles intl., Lodz, Poland
1999
Graffiti 2000, Moscow
ART FAIRS
2022
Cosmoscow Art Fair, Moscow
2021
Cosmoscow Art Fair, Moscow
Vienacontemporary, Vienna
2020
Cosmoscow Art Fair, Moscow
2017
Art Up, Lille
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
2014
Distil Ennui Studio, London
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2020
GUM Redline / Artiq.art / Dostyp.project, Moscow
SVBD.me Interactive Festival / Speaker / Moscow
2015
British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow
COLLABORATIONS
2020
Vogue magazine, June 2020 / Editorial project, Moscow
2017
TUMI / Artist Suitcase, Monaco
2015
Idroom Project / Artist Room @ Windsor Hotel, Geneva
2014
Absolut Artist Collaboration for Museum Moscow
Adidas X Sole Soul
2006
Nike X Faces & Laces, Moscow
HONORS AND AWARDS
Bridgeman Studio Award, shortlist, 2019
Write 4 Gold Russia, Winner, 2006
BOOKS & MAGAZINES
BL8D Volume 01, Italy
LE MILE magazine, October 2021, Germany
AD Architectural Digest, Dec-Jan 2018/2019, March 2020, March 2021
Elle Decoration, Nov 2018
"Mural Art 1", the Book, Publikat, Germany
"27 Addicts" the Book (Boris Schmelter), Munich, Germany
"Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents" the Book (Nicolas Ganz), Germany
Flofferz Magazine, Summer 2014
Dandylab Magazine, 2009
Molotok Magazine, 2003
"True Stilo" magazine, 2001
KEY PROJECTS AND EVENTS
2012
Standart project
2007
Ilovegraffiti project
True Playerz design studio
2006
King Ring music label, art direction, Kiev, Ukraine
2005
27 Addicts: Graffiti & Design Experiments by Boris Schmelter
Meeting of Styles Intl., Minsk, Belarus
2004
Meeting of Styles Intl., Gomel, Belarus
2003
Kofemolka (jury, graffiti contest), Cheboksary
Meeting of Styles Intl., Gomel, Belarus
2001
True Stilo graffiti magazine, founder
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Artist Statement
Following a lifelong passion for art, abstract artist Alex Kuznetsov creates his artworks across different mediums, including paintings, works on paper, and prints. Based in Lisbon, Kuznetsov's energetic abstractions are awash with swipes of bold colors, blacks and whites, reds, blues, and pinks. He is fascinated by color and brings himself to a state of meditative flux, where the process is as necessary as a result.
Kuznetsov's shapes and colors flow, move, and intertwine within the space of a canvas, vaguely resembling urban imagery - outlines of futuristic cars, contours of helmets, horizon lines with skyscrapers' spikes. Departing from Gerhard Richter's expressive superpositions of painting, Barnett Newman's color fields, and Pierre Soulages's Outrenoir, Kuznetsov creates a unique body of work, which strikes the viewer with its inner energy.
"An artist is originally a man who turns out from reality because he cannot come to terms with the renunciation of instinctual satisfaction which it at first demands. [...] He finds his way back to reality, however, from this world of phantasy by making use of special gifts to mold his phantasies into truths of a new kind, which men value as precious reflections of reality," as described by Sigmund Freud in Formulations of the Two Principles of Mental Functioning (1911).
Kuznetsov's process-led abstract painting practice employs a tempered gestural language where fluidity is a defining material concern, and the process of erasure has equal importance to the intuitive application of paint. The artist examines states of presence and remembrance by exploring a tension between control and eventuality. For Kuznetsov, painting is a constant quest for perfection and reflects his desire to organize the world according to an innate sense of harmony. Rather than providing narratives for his abstractions, he sublimates his visions, bringing them to the canvas for the viewer to decipher and identify with.
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“Artists who have nurtured the interaction with the creative energy present in the nature of street art, hold much potential to transpire their work into the field of fine art.”
— Widewalls.ch