Portal | Cosmic Vortex Oil Painting, 2026

Alena Ursova  

Alena Ursova is a contemporary painter whose work explores memory, childhood, and the emotional way we experience the world rather than how we literally see it. She brings together a background in visual design with an expressive painterly practice rooted in texture, light, and atmosphere.

Before dedicating herself fully to painting, Alena Ursova worked in graphic design, motion design, and visual communication. This experience shaped her sensitivity to composition, rhythm, color relationships, and storytelling, while painting became a space where those structures could become more intuitive and emotionally driven.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Alena Ursova creates figurative paintings that balance emotional realism with a subtle sense of fantasy. Thick, tactile brushstrokes become an essential part of the image, suggesting the softness of fabric, the warmth of sunlight, the movement of hair, or the texture of earth and water. For Alena, surface is never decorative—it is a way of making memory feel physically present.

Her paintings often feature warm earthy palettes alongside luminous blues and greens, creating spaces that feel both intimate and expansive. Rather than illustrating specific stories, she leaves room for personal interpretation, inviting viewers to reconnect with quiet moments, nostalgia, and the emotional landscapes of childhood.

In 2026, Ursova's paintings Tenderness and First Encounter were featured in the group exhibition Born from Childhood at the BYL / NEBYL exhibition space in Moscow.