Hollis Taggart Showcases Alex Kanevsky's Fluid Brushstroke

Alex Kanevsky, ‘Liberation and Disorientation,’ Installation View, Hollis Taggart Gallery

“Liberation and disorientation” is the second solo show by a contemporary artist Alex Kanevsky at Hollis Taggart gallery. The show, which is on view from September 5th through September 28th, comprises twenty-three paintings, all of which represent the works that the artist created within the last two years.

The artist’s principal subject— female bodies—dominate large canvases and smaller-scale wooden boards. These mesmerizing female-centered compositions are at the core of the “Liberation and disorientation”. In addition, the exhibition presents a set of seascapes that Kanevsky captured en plein air in Ireland as well as few alluring landscapes with luscious variations of greens painted on Mylar. The subject appears equally substantial and evolved, whether it’s depicted on a small, 18×18 inch canvas or in a greater scale works – some of the largest paintings go up to 72” in width.

In spite of their somewhat abstract imagery, Kanevsky’s works demonstrate the artist’s expert representational skills. The effortless and bold handling of the paint that he has mastered over his prolific artistic career— swiping expressionist brushstrokes, sophisticated contemporary color palette and multiple overlapping layers of oil paint— are the patent features his works.

Alex Kanevsky, “Classic Nude”, oil on canvas (Oksana Berzinsh for Fine Art Globe).

Kanevsky is refusing to stick to one narrative, instead, he is striving for a continuous search for that perfect balance of form and color, stillness and flow. His art is at the borderline between the liberating effect of free choice and limits imposed by the framework of acquired skills, techniques, rules, and values. His figurative works do not provide answers, but rather, the artist opens a conversation by giving us a glimpse at his personal views.

Today’s non-conforming painters believe that art communicates an intimate world of the artist – something that can’t be portrayed by words alone. The artistic choices— how the media is used, which way and how far the artist is ready to go to present the content—are all essential components of creative language. Some things cannot and indeed should not be verbalized. The fundamental human instinct to label and categorize everything—including art—could inhibit our ability to comprehend the multilayered and multidimensional complexity of an artwork, its emotional value, hindering its enigmatic effect.

Alex Kanevsky, “Provocation”, oil on board (Oksana Berzinsh for Fine Art Globe).

Alex Kanevsky is fearlessly pursuing his path, creating a unique visual language and expanding the boundaries of two-dimensional art. He blends the figure into a realistic or fictional environment by adding and subtracting layers of thick or translucent paint. The sensual and evocative portrayal of the human form is grounded by rich earthy color and apparent simplicity of the setting. Everything is in motion—the time is unstoppable, space metamorphoses, shifting and stretching, it attempts to confuse the observer into questioning the accepted paradigm of reality.