Alej Ez’s passion for architecture comes from his hometown of Granada, Southern Spain, where he was surrounded by beautiful historic architecture and colourful skies. After moving to the UK in 2000 he worked at an architecture firm that worked with the Dulwich Picture Gallery and National History Museum. In 2014 Alej moved to Brighton to carry on his architecture work, but his passion for printmaking persisted, and in 2019 he became a full-time artist.

Drawn from Alej’s own photographs of his surrounding countryside, a combination of printmaking techniques are used to create his final pieces – pen and ink, lino, lithograph and collagraph, along with digital tools. These drawings are drawn on specialised paper with calligraphic brushes, ink pens, sponges, watercolour and charcoal. They are then digitally scanned and layered with colour. Finally, they are printed on archival ink paper and individually signed.

The subject of Alej’s work comes from the surrounding physical, cultural and emotional world. He takes time to stand and stare, and to find an order in the chaos around. He works his way through this chaos until the end work is produced. The surrounding world is then expressed back into his work, commanding an emotional response and creating a treasured memory.

Glyndebourne Opera Golden Night

Alej is an opera enthusiast and has visited Glyndebourne numerous times. In 2019, during the performance of Handel’s Rinaldo, he was inspired to create works of Glyndebourne, a place so close to his heart.

His print ‘Glyndebourne Opera Golden Night’ came from wanting to bring the magic of the auditorium out into the gardens. Golden light bathes the façade and turns Glyndebourne itself into an opera set, with the building appearing in a fairy tale dream-like state.

In 2020 this print became the cover design for Glyndebourne’s Christmas Concert Programme. It’s ethereal feel and festive palette made it the perfect choice. It was also part of the 2020 Fair Ground exhibition at Glyndebourne's Gallery 94, along with Glyndebourne Opera Bleu, Birling Gap Starling Murmuration, and Firle from Glynde.

Explore Alej's full print collection here. 

You can find out more about Alej’s work by following his Instagram @alejezart