Alexander Blu - Artist 

Expressive Images of Colourful Violence - Review by Eric Bos (Dagblat van het Norden)​ ​ 'Stormy'​, that's how one could describe the paintings of Alexander Blu (2000). His preference: dynamic images as a young man in an explosive world. Alexander Blu exhibits at Kunsthandel Peter ter Braak. He was educated in London and at the Minerva Art Academy,  in Groningen, the city where he lives and works. What are his favourite themes? Violence, Disaster, he may agree, you can see that in his paintings. Phallic weapons in the hands of tough guys and sexy women; over the top, almost comical. But, it's not all satire. For example, there's a penetrating realistic portrait of a young woman whose right eye has been bashed shut. It is seen with blood, eyes peering at us. In this way, the painting brings us close to the real drama. That closed eye reminds us of the iconic portrait of the American photographer Nan Golden, after she was beaten up because of her photos of the fringes.  As a counterbalance, the gallery also has a small series of paintings of Children's Toys, a bicycle rotting away in the grass; memories of youth.  But to keep us focussed, a painting of the sleeping heroin addict, who seems to have wings, like an angel rising from the heroin fumes after an overdose. How can you prevent a disaster painted on a panel of a few centimetres? Alexander Blu doesn't shy away from it.  Miniature paintings of explosions, a nuclear flash of light. Intense images of a world in which a nuclear disaster hangs like a shadow over our daily existence.  It is work that raises questions, that confronts us with fear and danger, but that also puts everything into perspective, by giving its own twist.  ​ A contemporary expressionist with his own way of expressing himself.  ​ Alexander Blu is a contemporary expressionist who strives for his own way of expressing himself in his work. That pursuit makes it fascinating. Technique and imagination seek a balance in every painting. The tension that this evokes makes his work an experience. Sometimes he brushes everything together at a high speed, then again it is a considered process. He is not easily satisfied and tends to keep working on a finished painting. And then there hangs an attempt at mystery between all the action shots. A romantic forest scene with a full moon, and a white owl on a branch. But the sky is coloured red.   ​​​Critique by Eric Bos Visualia 1497, Kunst Kijken met Eric Bos, Dagblat van het Noorden