Alex DiMercurio
I’m a Wellington-based artist creating immersive, bold, textural abstract realism cloud and seascapes.
In February 2026, my painting Shine Through was awarded the Gold Award at the Wellington Art Show by Art Shows Across Aotearoa.
My work explores the emotional resonance of light, movement, and refracting colour in nature, those fleeting moments that shift something within us, often beyond words.
Through bold palette knife techniques, I capture sky and sea in layered, atmospheric paintings that hold both intensity and stillness.
Each artwork begins with a feeling. Painting becomes a way of making sense of that experience, holding onto it, and giving it form through colour, texture, and light.
Collectors often describe my work as having a levitating presence, revealing new depth and perspective depending on distance and light within a space.
At the heart of my practice is a deep focus on connection. Our connection to nature, to each other, and to ourselves.
Having lived across continents I’ve developed a sensitivity to the way we seek belonging, identity, and stillness amidst change. This sense of transience and rootedness coexisting is something I return to in my work.
The vastness of the sky and the ever-changing sea hold this same duality. Fleeting yet eternal, grounded yet untethered. No matter where we are, they offer a quiet sense of place and connection. Our very existence is bound to them, and to each other.
A defining shift in my work came after five years of travel and life sailing at sea, where I was brought face to face with the raw force of nature, its volatility, its awe, and its humbling scale. Time moved between moments of breathtaking surreal beauty and periods of chaotic life-threatening uncertainty, and the emotional pendulum swung between them became deeply significant.
It was often the moments after the storm that stayed with me most. The first promise of light breaking through cloud. The return of colour and warmth across a horizon, bouncing back into the clouds and then amplified in the water. The quiet, steady sense, like a deep relaxing exhale, that everything would be okay again.
The expansiveness of those clouded skies out at sea also felt strangely like home, creating a deep and indescribable sense of connection.
These experiences have become central to my work, shaping how I see and feel the world. My paintings seek to capture that pivotal moment of reassurance, hope, joy and connection.
Through my work I ultimately try to create moments that invite pause, presence, and a deeper awareness of both the natural world and our inner landscapes.
Painting is my way of making sense of those feelings, holding onto them, and letting that sense of magic and wonder be felt beyond me.
From the beginning
Having a Parisian artist mother, I was immersed in a world of celebrated art and museums from a young age. I vividly recall standing in awe before Claude Monet's 'Waterlilies' at Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris, an early personal inspiration.
Painting and creativity has since consumed and inspired me throughout my life.
From early beginnings as an art student I was hand-picked by an art teacher to have paintings exhibited at The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, in 1990. At the time I didn't realise how significant and poignant this was.
In 2004 I started painting again while exhibiting at art shows and cafes. Then in 2008, I had a group exhibition held at Saatchi & Saatchi's 5 Stories High gallery which was a sold-out success, motivating me to pursue my dream of becoming a professional artist.
I've since enjoyed a prolific artistic career, exhibiting in galleries and group shows across New Zealand (and more recently France), creating commissioned works for both national & international clients, and gaining recognition in publications and national Art Awards.
Welcome to my studio
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My playground
A light and airy creative space. The sun streams into this little haven in the mornings. Inviting me in to get started with a cup of tea in hand and my music playing. Usually my little fur-buddy Millau comes to see what I'm doing. He really is the best company and being so small, hardly takes up any space!
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A place for my tools
I've always dreamed of displaying all my paints like you see in the art stores. No more digging in boxes looking for that one specific colour! And when I am concepting an idea I also get to daydream out onto my garden of lush native trees while listening to birdlife.
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In the moment
I'm usually working on several pieces at a time so things can get messy. When I need a break from the intense concentration of a larger canvas I play and experiment on smaller works. Usually thinking about colour palettes or techniques I need to work on. This is where I have a lot of fun. Anything goes!
Education
I graduated from Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand in 2002, and have more recently studied fine arts at private art schools in Montmartre, Paris and Cannes.
Notably, in 2019 I had the privilege of working within the historic atelier of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec where he first met Suzanne Valadon. His friend Vincent van Gogh would often frequent and share this very art studio.
Montmartre's legacy as Paris’ creative hub is remarkable. Other renowned figures such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir shaped its artistic landscape.
To engage with this amazing heritage, soak up the atmosphere and walk the same winding, cobbled streets of such incredible artistic legends while also realising my lifelong artistic aspirations was a profound experience.
During my six-month residency in Paris, I also devoted myself to weekly visits at the Louvre, which is a treasure-trove of art history. And where I engaged myself in intensive drawing and immersive study sessions alongside the masters of classical, neo-classical, Hellenistic, Renaissance, and Baroque art.
2025 Musée Bonnard Ateliers D'été, Le Cannet, Cannes, France
2020 Association des beaux-arts de Cannes, France.
2019 Studio Escalier, Montmatre, Paris, France.
2010-2013 Inverlochy Art School, Wellington.
1998-2002 Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Massey University, Wellington.
1991 Visual Communication and Design, Massey University, Wellington
AWARDS
2026 Wellington Art Show, Art Shows Across Aotearoa - Gold Award Winner
2026 Craigs Aspiring Art Prize, Wanaka, NZ - Finalist
2025 Assoc. des Amis du Musée Picasso d'Antibes, Côte D'Azure, France - Merit Award
2024 NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington, Autumn - Award Winner
2009 NZ Art Show, Wellington - Signature Award Piece Finalist
2009 National Drawing Award Finalist
2006 Telecom Art Awards, NZ Finalist
Exhibitions
