"HOW TO MAKE A FRIEND IN DEEP WATER" Painting

Koblova’s artistic language is intentionally restrained and inclusive. Her recurring female figure has no face and no fixed identity — skin color is undefined, cultural markers are absent. This openness allows the images to remain universal, inviting viewers to recognize their own experiences beyond nationality, language, or context. Minimal information becomes not a limitation, but a space for inner resonance. Her practice is grounded in the idea of art as a space of restoration and care. Rejecting the language of shock and trauma, Koblova works with silence, slowness, and conscious attention. Biophilia in her work is not a decorative device, but a form of relationship: an emotional connection between humans and nature as a source of safety, presence, and trust. Animals appear as equal participants in this dialogue — seemingly fragile, yet carrying deep, sustaining strength. In her most recent works, the artist moves even further toward reduction and inclusivity. The female figure gradually dissolves, leaving only lines of movement — traces of presence rather than representation. This shift is inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s ideas of “dancing form,” as well as the late works of Henri Matisse, where line becomes a carrier of rhythm, freedom, and bodily sensation. By removing specificity, Koblova amplifies universality: line replaces body, movement replaces identity, allowing the viewer to engage through personal experience and state of being. The works are created in series, each functioning as a unified field of meaning. For the artist, seriality is a form of thinking — a way to explore subtle states such as the balance between motion and stillness, strength and softness, control and trust. In her material practice, Koblova works with acrylic on linen and gives a second life to previously used canvases, reworking them as part of an ethic of care and sustainability. Aleksandra Koblova presented her solo exhibition Stance Matters at Address Beach Resort (Dubai, 2025) in collaboration with Erickson UAE and Christopher Cook, and has participated in group exhibitions, including projects at Alserkal Avenue. The works presented in this catalogue are what the artist describes as “emotional vitamins for the soul.” They create spaces of clarity, softness, and inner balance, and exist naturally within gallery settings, professional environments, and private interiors — quiet reminders of trust, presence, and the possibility of harmony in an unstable world.