Alex Nery

Alex is a portrait artist and art instructor from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He received his BFA (Printmaking) from UFRJ, School of Fine Arts, and a Technical Degree in Mural Painting (Fresco) from Fiocruz (OEM). 

As a printmaker, he has participated in several collective exhibitions with the group Gravetos, sharing a workshop in Santa Teresa from 2010 to 2015. After graduating, his focus shifted to portraiture in dry media, such as charcoal and pastels.

In 2018 he opened a studio with two friends and former university colleagues, where he teaches fundamentals of drawing. His focus is on teaching the student how to see, allying the academic approach taught at university and his own personal insights during his artistic development. He believes a strong foundation in perspective, a solid understanding of form and space, is an essential tool for any figurative artist. Alex also does comissioned portrait work in his chosen media of preference, dry pastels and charcoal. 

His academic interests lie in materials and techniques, where he spent most of his time researching historical mediums, varnishes and supports in order to recover some of the knowledge that was lost with the passage of time and the development of new tastes, techniques and ideas. He enjoys making his own casein tempera, gesso grounds and occasionally some pastels. On the theoretical side, he is fascinated by the role of geometry in linear composition, and how it has captivated the minds of painters throughout history. 

He draws inspiration from the old masters of the Renaissance period, particularly to the north of Europe, such as the Early Flemish and Netherlandish painters and engravers, and then the later german masters like Dürer and Holbein. Their mastery of form and light, facility with line, their geometric compositions and stunning use of oil paint in a technique that was all but lost to time. He is also heavily inspired by the Modern Russian Academic tradition as is taught at the Repin Institute.