Alla Vilnow is a London-based abstract expressionist artist and someone who genuinely believes that a painting can change the way a person feels about their day, their memory, or themselves.

Her canvases are colour-driven and intuitive, shaped by emotion, lived experience and a deep curiosity about the spiritual side of being human. She paints to open something up in the work, and in whoever is standing in front of it. Each piece is personal in its making and completely open in its meaning, inviting the viewer to bring their own story and find what speaks to them.

What makes Alla’s work unusual is the quiet rigour underneath all that feeling. She trained at Central Saint Martins and holds degrees from Chelsea College of Art and Design, UCL and the University of Westminster in spatial design, architectural studies and computer imaging. That training never shows off, but it’s there in the balance, the composition, the way every canvas holds together without explaining itself.

People who collect her work often say the same thing: it looked different every time they came back to it. That’s not an accident. That’s Alla.