Bio
Alex Coma is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice investigates the architecture of consciousness through the dual lenses of visionary oil painting and immersive installation. Based on Vancouver Island, Coma constructs "ritual machines"—spatial and visual environments designed to bridge the visible and invisible worlds. His rigorous methodology synthesizes the technical precision of Renaissance chiaroscuro with a decade-long research initiative into Hermetic traditions and archetypal psychology.
Coma’s paintings are characterized by their material alchemy, utilizing rare, labor-intensive pigments such as lapis lazuli to create surfaces that vibrate with historical and optical resonance. These two-dimensional works often serve as the focal points for larger, site-specific installations that integrate sound, scent, and symmetrical architecture to facilitate a phenomenological encounter with the "Black Sun"—a recurring symbol in his work representing the generative force of the unconscious.
His work has been exhibited in public institutions and artist-run centres, including a major solo exhibition, Aeon of the Black Sun, at the Comox Valley Art Gallery (2026). Other recent exhibitions include Real Fiction at Centre Skol (2024) and Tabula Rasa at Galerie Popop (2022, curated by Rad Hourani). In 2023, he founded Roze Umbra, a collaborative research platform exploring the intersection of contemporary art and spiritual practice. Through its associated podcast, Coma has conducted in-depth dialogues with prominent figures in contemporary art and esotericism, including sculptor David Altmejd, alchemist Brian Cotnoir, and artist Michael Carter. Coma holds a BFA from Concordia University and is a graduate of the Montreal Fine Arts Academy.
Artistic Statement
My art practice begins in the territories of spirituality, transformation, and the unconscious, articulated through the systematic languages of oil painting and immersive installations. Operating within the "Blue Hour"—the liminal threshold between waking logic and dream — my creative process is driven by intense meditation and self-investigation, starting with the acknowledgement of psychic imbalances and leading toward the perception of vast, impersonal archetypal energies. This internal journey is my rigorous methodology for generating shared symbolic content.
​
In painting, I blend detailed realism with layered symbolism, deploying the chiaroscuro technique to summon meditative atmospheres where the visible and invisible converse. I use rare, labor-intensive pigments, such as lapis lazuli, viewing the creative act as an alchemical process that transforms both the artwork and my own perception simultaneously. My compositions—featuring specific architectures, night skies, and lush landscapes—function as portals to inner realities and the critique of material ephemerality.
​
My immersive installations transition beyond the two-dimensional plane, transforming exhibition spaces into ritual environments through the integration engineered soundscapes, olfactory profiles, and precise, symmetrical arrangements. By investigating universal themes like the re-harmonization of feminine and masculine energies or the cycles of death and rebirth (such as my series inspired by the goddess Nuit) , I aim to use symbols as a universal language. My ultimate goal is to awaken intimate truths by creating spaces that connect the viewer to the invisible forces that structure our collective existence.
