The Art and Life of Alexander Yulish – Painter of the In-Between

Discover the world of Alexander Yulish—New York-born artist known for his large-scale abstract figurative works. Explore his education, major exhibitions, artistic process, and growing legacy in contemporary painting.

There are artists whose work feels like a reflection of their thoughts—and then there are artists like Alexander Yulish, whose work feels like a direct transmission from the soul. With his emotionally charged abstractions and introspective scale, Yulish has emerged as a vital voice in contemporary painting—unafraid to explore fragility, complexity, and beauty in equal measure.

His recent solo exhibition, The Space In Between, at AP Space in Chelsea, New York, marked a defining moment in his career, bringing together years of exploration into the themes of intimacy, chaos, and self-inquiry. But to understand the impact of this work, you have to understand the artist behind it.

Born and raised in New York City, Alexander Yulish was surrounded by creativity from an early age. His mother, the acclaimed artist and fashion illustrator Sondra Gilman, was a key figure in shaping his early exposure to art and aesthetics. Yulish grew up immersed in the artistic and intellectual energy of Manhattan, absorbing the rhythms of the city that would later inform his expressive visual language.

He studied Fine Art at Connecticut College, where he deepened his understanding of both classical and contemporary techniques. While his formal education provided a strong technical foundation, it was his post-college years—spent between New York and Los Angeles—that allowed his intuitive, gestural style to take root and evolve.

Yulish’s work sits in the rich intersection between abstraction and figuration, and his paintings are often described as psychological landscapes—improvised yet intentional, emotionally raw yet formally refined. He paints large-scale canvases with a sense of urgency and lyricism, using layers of impasto, delicate transparencies, and recurring visual metaphors like chairs, windows, and tiny figures to symbolize safety, escape, and intimacy.

His signature visual language is gestural, deeply personal, and often reflects his interest in celestial forms, psychic tension, and the boundaries between the conscious and subconscious mind. His approach is rooted in spontaneity, but with a compositional awareness that evokes influences ranging from Modigliani to Delaunay, combined with the grit and vulnerability of contemporary experience.

Yulish’s process is physical and immersive—an act of excavation as much as expression. He often speaks about painting as a form of psychological mapping, revealing what is hidden, what is in between, and what lies just beyond articulation.

Yulish has held solo exhibitions at respected galleries including ACE Gallery in Los Angeles and Trinity London, earning praise for both the scale and emotional depth of his work. His pieces are included in major private and institutional collections, most notably Museo Jumex in Mexico City, one of Latin America’s leading institutions for contemporary art.

His show at Gallery AP Space in 2024, The Space In Between, was his most ambitious to date. Described by critics and collectors as a culmination of his mature voice, the exhibition explored the liminal terrain between thought and feeling, capturing the psychological currents of a world in flux.

Though not traditionally oriented toward awards or public accolades, Yulish’s work has earned widespread recognition in critical circles for its authenticity, scale, and emotional immediacy. His commitment to painting as a raw, intuitive, and meditative act has placed him in a unique position in the current contemporary art dialogue—especially as more viewers seek work that resonates on a psychological and spiritual level.

Collectors, curators, and fellow artists alike have acknowledged his contribution to a new wave of abstraction that prioritizes vulnerability, poetic impulse, and a deeper search for truth in visual form.

Whether painting in his studio in Los Angeles or walking the streets of New York, Alexander Yulish is an artist in constant dialogue with the world around him—and the one within. His canvases don’t ask for explanation; they ask for presence. They are made not to impress, but to connect.

In a time defined by uncertainty, Yulish reminds us that there is beauty in ambiguity, meaning in the mess, and truth in the space in between.