ALEX KUNO

THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS

solo exhibition

July 19th - August 10th, 2025

Opening Reception: First Friday, August 1st • 5-9pm​

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It can be comforting to think of our lives in THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. Context feels forgiving, perspective can lead to redemption, but with his newest series, Alex Kuno suggests there’s also futility in a ‘big picture’ worldview. It can become a detached shrinking of life’s heaviest—and most beautiful—moments, assuming “we’re all playing a role in some cosmic plan of the universe” that’s out of our control. 

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“When I set out to work on this series, I wanted the paintings to be about symmetry, order, and timelessness, an exploration of the ‘prospect-refuge’ theory with massive, sweeping landscapes that also provide the audience little places of escape in a world that feels overwhelming. But as I developed these compositions, the real world seeped in…The landscapes began to feel sentient, with their own motives and trajectories, while the figures became transitory at best. Perhaps the show is an exploration of the inability to wrap our heads around the overwhelming ‘bigness’ of the calamities we all face, while maintaining some sort of peace and hope. It’s our lot as humans to never understand the world or our place in it, and in THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, everything is absurd and transitory.” - Alex Kuno

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Three of the ten paintings in this series are Kuno’s largest works to-date, done at a scale that highlights the sublime sense of perspective and lyrical movement that runs through every piece. In an exciting departure, Kuno positions his signature twisted and medieval subjects, though still delightfully nuanced and narrative, outside of the viewer’s focus. Their profound experiences of birth, death, trauma, and joy are physically dwarfed by the all-encompassing backdrop of nature and time. Even as they are subsumed, swallowed whole, even birthed by their environments, Kuno is able to draw us into his characters. We imagine their stories and identify with their situations. After the initial emotional impact of these “zoomed out” compositions, we zoom in, and Kuno reminds us how important the minutia of life can be. He calls on our empathy, at a time when we could use a good dose of that going around. 

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Alex Kuno (b. 1975) is based in Minnesota with a studio in the historic arts district of Lowertown Saint Paul and studied Fine Art at the University of Minnesota. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, he worked as an art handler and production assistant in several NYC art galleries. In 2022, Alex released his first official concert poster for the band TOOL, an opportunity that quickly elevated his career and collector base. Kuno has been showing with Arch Enemy Arts since 2017, and we are honored to be hosting THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, an absolute wonder of a show and his third solo feature with the gallery. 

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THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS will be on view from July 19th - August 10th, 2025
Sold works will begin to ship the week starting August 17th, unless other rush shipping arrangements have been made. 

Items marked with a red dot have already been sold.

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