What happens when the material itself becomes an active participant in the artistic process? In Asya Alpay’s paintings, color is not merely applied to a surface; it flows, accumulates, overlaps, and eventually solidifies, producing forms that hover between painting and sculpture. Her practice is distinguished by an experimental engagement with epoxy resin, which she transforms into a primary medium by infusing it with raw pigments and acrylic paint, effectively rediscovering the canvas through layered, translucent surfaces.
Alpay’s solo exhibition, Confluence, curated by İlayda Uzunarslan at Gallery Marquess in London’s Mayfair (16–22 November 2026), brings together two distinct bodies of work: Asymmetric & Geometric and Ebruli. Across both series, the artist examines the tension between deliberate structure and spontaneity, revealing how physical processes can generate unexpected visual forms.
At the core of Alpay’s technique is manipulation of transparent epoxy resin colored directly with raw pigments. By pouring mixtures of varying densities and opacities in successive layers—and occasionally incorporating fragments of glass—she builds depth, luminosity, and pronounced relief. Because resin undergoes a chemical curing process from liquid to solid, the medium’s inherent fluidity dictates much of the outcome. Pigments collide and settle in ways that cannot be fully predetermined, resulting in glossy, raised formations that pull the work away from traditional two-dimensional flatness and into a sculptural presence.
The Invisible Made Visible
Is it possible to give form to what is inherently intangible? Alpay’s paintings capture the precise threshold where fluid potential crystallizes into a tangible image. As the resin cures, kinetic movement is suspended in time, preserving the traces of an organic, unpredictable evolution.
These emergent forms rarely point to recognizable objects in the external world; instead, they evoke the moment before something undefined acquires a physical presence. In Daylight (2026), a dark, intricately textured mass sits within a luminous field of orange and gold, recalling an unfamiliar celestial body or an embryonic structure slowly coming into focus. Similarly, Jade (2026) layers emerald and golden tones to create an enigmatic topography that hints at hidden geological or biological processes.
The spiritual resonance of these works does not rely on explicit mysticism or religious iconography. Instead, it stems from a quiet encounter with forms that seem to originate from an unseen source. In this sense, Alpay’s canvases operate as studies in manifestation—where the invisible refers not to the supernatural but to latent possibilities brought into existence by the material itself.
Image or Physical Object?
Traditional distinctions between painting and sculpture hinge on the divide between surface and volume—a boundary Alpay deliberately destabilizes. While her works remain anchored to the canvas, their reflective, multi-layered topography introduces a striking three-dimensionality that demands physical engagement from the viewer.
In Blue Matter (2026), passages of cobalt and gold intersect within a central rectangular configuration, balancing dense, tactile clusters with glass-like transitions. The visual complexity arises from how the medium occupies space: certain areas appear to swell outward, while others draw the eye deep beneath the glossy surface.
Lilith (2026) pushes this spatial ambiguity further, presenting a dark, circular formation ringed by vivid turquoise. Its crimson core carries an almost visceral, bodily charge, suspending the composition between the microscopic and the cosmic without settling into either. Through these works, Alpay oscillates between pure abstraction and organic association, keeping the viewer tethered to the resin’s physical behavior.
The Aesthetics of Becoming
The exhibition’s title, Confluence, refers to the meeting of separate currents—a concept mirrored in the dialogue between the two featured series. In Asymmetric & Geometric, structured compositions are disrupted by irregular elements, staging a negotiation between order and deviation. Conversely, Ebruli leans into fluidity, allowing color and form to emerge from looser, less predictable interactions. Yet neither series is strictly about control versus chaos; both rely on a continuous calibration between the artist’s intervention and the material’s autonomy.
This negotiation highlights the temporal dimension of Alpay’s work. Unlike conventional brushstrokes that dry while retaining their initial gesture, curing resin records an extended period of chemical activity. The finished canvas is therefore not a static end point, but a document of becoming—the visible residue of color, matter, and time interacting.
Crucially, Alpay’s editorial rigor determines when these material experiments cohere into a compelling visual language. Her strongest works are those in which the resin’s physical traits are inseparable from the compositional architecture. In Daylight and Jade, for instance, the friction between the dense central forms and their surrounding fields creates a taut visual focus, elevating the medium beyond mere surface spectacle.
Ultimately, Confluence invites a reconsideration of painting as an event in which matter is not passively shaped, but actively co-authors the image. By suspending movement within solid structures, Alpay demonstrates that a painting can be more than a finished picture—it can stand as a physical record of its own coming into being.
‘Confluence’ is on view at Gallery Marquess, Mayfair, London, from 16 to 22 November 2026.
