Alexander Krenz was born in Cape Town in 1972 to Renata and Andre Krenz, son of artist Alfred Krenz (1899 - 1980). Born into this creative family and heavily influenced by his grandfather's artistic expression, Alex started to experiment with his own form of abstract expression in 2000. For 5 years Alex focused on creating aesthetic beauty through his art, and by 2005 became one of South Africa's top-selling contemporary artists. 

 

While this time was coloured by success and popularity, Alex was at the same time tortured by what he saw as the 'sick' state of the world, caused, he felt, by the influence of the established global economic system. At the same time as building his art career, he developed a parallel passion for researching these issues and was increasingly drawn to find some form of expression for his discoveries and insights into the causal factors of these social ills.

 

The popularity and celebrated 'beauty' of his art started to feel hypocritical and Alex eventually turned his back on his painting in his desperate quest for some other form of expression of his dismay at the world. At this times he was driven into bankruptcy, divorce and depression.  Stuck in this very dark place for some years, Alex started to realise that he needed to return to his natural home in painting and has re-emerged into his art with an entirely different approach and attitude to his art. He is now painting with new passion and vigour, driven by the realisation that he abandoned his natural calling and has come back to it with deep gratitude, appreciation and a need to express in a higher way. 

 

He started to focus on film making as an art medium that could perhaps express his frustration and messages that would be more accessible to a broader audience. Over the next 4 years, Alex invested his time, energy and savings into making a documentary about these causal factors and the state of the planet, with the potential emergence of a new civilization moving away from individuality and divisiveness, into a way of collective wisdom.  Unfortunately, this venture failed. 

 

At the same time, Alex's desire for collaboration and harnessing collective wisdom has not left him, and he has found a way to bring this into his natural world of painting. Now, in addition to his own artworks, Alex has created And Alexander, a partnership with other trusted artists in working on the same canvas and allowing for a shared expression and, what he feels is the transcendence of the individual into something greater.  He continues to paint his own works and work with his fellow artists from his studio in Hout Bay, Cape Town. 

 

About the artworks

 

His individual artworks in oil continue to be a representation of and process of letting go and allowing for the flow of life and emergence of what is meant to be. His current work with And Alexander is somewhat different, using acrylics and mixed media. This is an exploration of a new and fresh way of representing Africa, the artist's soul home, in art. It is a move away from the traditional way of representing African forms into an expression of freer forms and looser styles - allowing the paintings to take on a life of their own through the process of allowing, and collaboration on canvas.