Aliya Abs

About the artist

Aliya lives and works in Munich, Germany. In 2011 she graduated from the Art Academy in Lviv, Ukraine, with a master’s degree.

She slowly discovered abstract and linear art for herself, after she became a mother and this preference for abstraction in her art is increasing ever since. This evolution in her work is rooted in Aliyas belief that even life is easier to understand in an abstract manor. Meaning that one’s thinking process should consist of successfully omitting any irrelevant details and therefore moving on to the core of something more general and simple.

With the desire to put her feelings onto the canvas she transforms the invisible to something visible and tangible. This artistic progress has helped her to finally free herself from her academic work.

Aliya works mainly on traditional media such as canvases and paper for her paintings and drawings.

With her diverse mix of genres from minimalist still lifes to portraits and figurative art, she offers her audience a wide range of contemporary subjects.

On the one hand her artistic work is influenced by academic teaching and on the other hand by the real every day life with her two children. In addition, there are influences from different cultures of our globalized society.

Aliya classifies her favorite motifs into three categories: “PEOPLE”, “PLACES”, “THINGS”. So, the current works are mainly about people, places of living and furnishings – from table scenes with vases to fashion and accessories from everyday life.

The focus of her current works are naive shapes and natural colors. She works with dynamic brushstrokes as well as with calm color surfaces. By combining earth tones and intense contrasts, she takes her audience into a modern world of color.

The “completion” of a work comes in different steps. Some works are created quickly, some take time, are edited several times, supplemented or even painted over partially. It depends a lot on Aliya’s emotional mood and condition. A fresh eye or a refreshed look to the work often provides clarity on adjustments. Techniques used: Acrylic and oil pastel pencils on canvas.

The most important sources of inspiration for her works are trends and movements in modern art from the beginning of the 20th century until today, but especially the real, naive world of her children.

Artworks