Redefining How We Experience Abstract Painting

For many artists, success means creating something that immediately captures attention. For Alex Kuznetsov, his practice invites viewers to engage with painting through colour, surface, materiality and perception. Born in Minsk in 1978 and now living and working between Paris and Portugal, Alex has developed a distinctive approach to process-based abstract painting.

His work explores repetition, duration, material process and optical perception, transforming acrylic paint and industrial tools into constructed surfaces where movement, physical action and controlled chance become part of the finished work.

A Contemporary Approach to Abstract Painting

Alex Kuznetsov’s artistic practice is centred on abstraction and the physical process of painting.

Rather than treating a painting simply as an image, he approaches each work as a constructed structure. Colour, material, repetition and surface interact to create a visual experience that changes depending on how the work is viewed.

His practice has developed through an ongoing investigation of how painting can communicate through its material qualities rather than through conventional representation.

Working primarily with acrylic, Alex uses industrial tools instead of relying on traditional brushes. Among these is an aluminium straightedge, which allows him to work with pressure, movement and controlled application of paint.

The resulting surfaces carry traces of physical action and process, while maintaining a carefully considered relationship between structure and unpredictability.

When Process Becomes Part of the Artwork

What makes Alex’s work particularly interesting is the importance of process within the finished painting.

Rather than approaching every canvas with a completely fixed image in mind, Alex allows decisions to develop during the act of painting. He works with repetition, pressure, accumulation and material interaction, creating surfaces in which control and unexpected results exist alongside one another.

Colour plays an essential role in this process. Different tones, layers and physical marks interact across the surface, creating visual relationships that can change according to distance, light and perspective.

The aluminium straightedge also becomes part of the language of the work. Instead of functioning simply as a technical instrument, it contributes to the physical character of the paintings and the way paint is distributed across the surface.

The result is an approach in which the process remains visible within the final work.

Balancing Control and Unexpected Results

A central aspect of Alex’s practice is the relationship between intention and unpredictability.

The artist establishes a framework through his choice of materials, tools, colour and process, while allowing unexpected results to emerge during the making of the work.

This balance between control and chance is not about abandoning structure. Instead, it creates space for the painting to develop through the interaction between the artist, the materials and the physical process.

Each work therefore becomes the result of a sequence of decisions and responses rather than the execution of a completely predetermined image.

This process-based approach connects Alex’s paintings with broader questions around perception, materiality and the ways viewers experience abstract art.

Paris, Portugal and a Contemporary Artistic Practice

Living and working between Paris and Portugal gives Alex an international context for his artistic practice.

His connection with Lisbon has also been explored through People of Lisbon, a video and photography project that followed his routines, decisions and work around the studio.

The project offered a glimpse into the environment surrounding his practice and the physical process behind the paintings.

Alex’s work is not defined by a single location. His practice continues to develop across different cultural and artistic environments while maintaining its focus on material process, abstraction and perception.

A Career That Continues to Expand

Alex’s career has developed across galleries, museums, international exhibitions and collaborations. His work has been presented in France, Switzerland, Russia, Belarus, the United States and other international locations, while his paintings have entered private collections across Europe, Asia and North America.

His collaborations have also extended beyond conventional gallery spaces. These include his collaboration with Revolut, demonstrating how contemporary painting can also engage with wider creative and commercial environments while maintaining its artistic identity.

His growing international presence reflects the continued development of a practice rooted in abstraction, materiality and process.

A New Chapter in 2026

The current chapter of Alex’s career includes several significant exhibitions and presentations.

In 2026, his work is being presented in exhibitions including Afterimage / Condition at Galerie Diego Escobar in Marseille, alongside his continuing development of new acrylic paintings exploring material, structure, repetition and perception.

His work will be presented by Galerie Zberro at Moderne Art Fair on Place de la Concorde, Paris, from 22 to 25 October 2026, during Art Basel Paris week.

These presentations place his work within an international contemporary art context while continuing his exploration of abstract painting and material process.

Painting as Material, Process and Perception

Alex’s paintings encourage viewers to consider abstraction through more than colour alone.

Surface, pressure, repetition, material and physical action all contribute to the way each work is experienced.

The paintings do not rely on conventional imagery to communicate. Instead, they create relationships between colour, structure and perception, allowing viewers to engage with the physical qualities of the work and discover details within the surface.

This emphasis on materiality is central to Alex’s practice. Each painting records something of the process through which it was created, while remaining open to individual interpretation.

Continuing the Artistic Investigation

Alex Kuznetsov’s current practice continues to explore what abstract painting can become when material, process and perception are treated as fundamental elements of the work.

From his studio practice between Paris and Portugal to exhibitions and presentations across international art spaces, his work remains focused on an ongoing investigation rather than a fixed formula.

Acrylic, colour, pressure, repetition and industrial tools come together to create surfaces shaped by both deliberate decisions and unexpected results.

His paintings ultimately offer a direct encounter with material and perception — works that reveal themselves through their colour, structure and physical presence.

For more information, visit www.alexkuznetsov.org and follow Alex Kuznetsov on Instagram at @alexkuznetsov.artist.

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