Photo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Alexander Yulish (b. 1975, New York) works within an unfolding narrative of improvisation and abstraction in paintings that convey the inner psychology of both human and external forms. Working predominantly in large-scale formats, Yulish utilizes a direct, impasto brush, building irregular shapes layer by layer into gestural, complex color arrangements in order to reveal abstract figurative forms. The movement of these gestures throughout each painting is marked simultaneously by harmony, undulation, and discord, all playing out across the canvas with a distinct lyrical impulse unifying the composition of his work. The scale of each work allows him to communicate an inner dialogue with tactful urgency, expressing the depths and complexities of the human psyche.

Producing within an immediate and expressive format, Yulish’s studio practice is borne of varying applications of acrylic on canvas as part of an elaborative process. Swirls of lines and broader shapes are established, conjoined, integrated, and sometimes lost within the ceaseless creation of new forms and expressions. This tension between success, failure, and the precariousness of sustaining gestural rhythm are active elements that define his creative process as well as the nature of his depicted subjects.

Alexander Yulish studied fine art at Connecticut College and has been featured in numerous solo shows of work, including the solo show “Immovable Thoughts” at ACE Gallery in Los Angeles and Trinity London, and an upcoming solo exhibition at Gallery AP Space. His work is included in the collection of Museo Jumex in Mexico City.