“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Alexander L. Kalamkarov

July 15, 2026 Lauren Kannwischer Arts, Visual Arts

Alexander L. Kalamkarov has adopted artistic pseudonym ALEK. He lives and works in Canada since 1992. He was born in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in Transcaucasia. All his life, Alexander has pursued two parallel careers – as a fine artist and as an academic. He is an accomplished artist with many art shows in Canada, the USA, France and earlier in Russia. Simultaneously, Alexander has been a professor of mathematics and mechanics at different universities, and he is an internationally recognized researcher in mathematics and mechanics.
ALEK’s artwork depicts human faces and bodies, natural and architectural landscapes, but does not copy them; it rather reflects emotions, impressions, and esthetics. His art reveals a mystery of spirit and a beauty of our world, human imagination, and fantasy.

ALEK has shown his works at many solo and group art exhibitions. Most recently, he has shown his artwork at the Salon des Indépendants at Art Capital 2025 in the Grand Palais in Paris (France) in February 2025 and at Red Dot Miami 2025 (Florida, USA) in December 2025. He had a large retrospective solo show at the Gora Art Gallery in Montreal in October-November 2023, where over 100 his works were shown, and at the Archives Nova Scotia in Halifax in March 2023. He has shown 30 works at the Art3F Art Fairs at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris (France) in 2024 and 2023. A memorable solo art show of his works took place at the historical Pier 21 in Halifax in October 2002. He was awarded a prestigious Arts Council Presentation Grant for this show.

Alexander L. Kalamkarov
“Phantasmagoria”, 2023, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 102 x 76 cm. This painting is full of harmony of shapes, contours, and colours. It is based on my original drawings. Truly, when you look at this picture, you can’t tear yourself away from it.
Alexander L. Kalamkarov
“Duduk Player”, 1979, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 70 cm. This ancient pipe-like instrument called “duduk” or “duduki” looks simple, but it has a wonderfully deep polyphonic sound. Playing duduk and singing has been a tradition in Armenia and Georgia for centuries. This is an old musician playing this instrument. One can feel a deep and somewhat sad melody through the colours of the background.
“Polyphony-1” and “Polyphony-2”, 2020, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 46 x 61 cm. In these paintings, five images are in a polyphonic combination of contours and colours. The central image dominates the composition. The other images in the four corners of the composition represent the emotions and thoughts radiated by the central character.
“The Night Walk”, 1982, Oil on Canvas, 70 x 50 cm. Houses along this mysterious street have common features of 18th-19th century buildings in the old European town. Some surrealistic elements are also present in this painting. Streetlamps and light from windows give a mysterious flavour to the scenery. A lonely figure could be a student walking back home from a late party.
Paintings on slate stones. I find the slate stones at the Atlantic Ocean beaches. They are created by glaciers, ocean waves and winds during millions of years. My paintings on these stones are inspired by their shapes and reliefs. These works are essentially 3D, and photos can give you only limited impression.
“Origin of Life: Mysterious Planet”, 1980, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 70 cm. This mysterious landscape is full of life. There are strange-looking flowers and plants, eggs, and small creatures. This could be the Earth many years ago.
Alexander L. Kalamkarov
“Mysterious Landscape, Prediction”, 1985, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 35 cm. I painted this picture back in 1985, well before arriving to Canada. At this time, I had never seen Toronto and did not know what it looked like. I arrived in Toronto with my family for the first time in 1992 when we emigrated to Canada. Some of my Canadian friends saw this painting in my apartment in Toronto and said: look you have drawn Toronto. Indeed, it looks very much like a view of Toronto from the side of Lake Ontario. This painting is a mysterious prediction of our emigration to Canada.
Alexander L. Kalamkarov
“Castle”, 1988, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 70 cm. This surrealistic landscape reveals a mysterious unity of a medieval castle with harmonious objects on the ground and in the sky.

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What do you do?

My artwork includes oil paintings, ceramics and most recently, the paintings on slate stones. I paint human faces and bodies, natural and architectural landscapes, but I never copy them. I rather convey my impressions, emotions, and aesthetics. Through the harmony of lines, shapes, and colours, my works reveal a mystery of human spirit, our imagination and fantasy, and a beauty of our world. My artwork can probably be attributed to expressionism and surrealism. But I believe that it is unique and does not copy any artist or any artistic direction.

My favourite artist, Amedeo Modigliani, once said: “What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.” I feel very similar.

My most recent direction is paintings on slate stones. Since 2021, I have created over 100 paintings on slate stones. I find the slate stones on the Atlantic Ocean beaches. They are created by glaciers, ocean waves and winds over millions of years. My paintings on these stones are inspired by their shapes and reliefs. Each work is unique because there are no identical stones. These works are essentially 3D, and photos can give you only limited impression.

What are you currently working on?

I am constantly drawing. I have accumulated thousands of original drawings. Many of them are later used in my paintings. I am working on new oil and acrylic paintings on canvases and on slate stones.

Where can we find your work?

My artwork is well presented on my art website. There are photos of my paintings on canvases, slate stones, drawings, PDF’s of my 3 art albums and several videos.

 

About Lauren Kannwischer 87 Articles
Lauren is a passionate community driven Torontonian who helps out with our social media and our daily features.

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