NÆRE x Alexandria Coe
By Nadia Forde
There are creators whose work feels like a quiet revelation - intuitive, timeless and quietly profound. Alexandria Coe is one of them. A London-born artist now working between London and Athens, her practice spans drawing, painting and textiles, centred on an intimate exploration of the human form and the female experience. Her work has graced exhibitions from Soho House Art Fair in London to solo shows in Spain, and has been spotlighted in the pages of Vogue, Elle Decoration and the Financial Times, among others.
We invited Alexandria to create a bespoke piece of art for NÆRE because her work mirrors what we believe makes a life well lived: intention that feels effortless, a deep respect for the body and its stories and the courage to explore complexity with both precision and grace. Her creative process - where minimal lines become emotional truth, resonates with our ethos of ritual over resolution, refinement over noise and meaning over the superficial.
Today, we sit down with her to talk about art, identity and what it means to begin again - not with a resolution, but with a rhythm.
On beginnings and evolution
Do you remember the first moment you realised drawing was more than expression - that it was a kind of language for you?
I think drawing is our first language we choose. Linguistics is implanted and pressed upon us - but is limited, in how we can express feelings. I guess being lucky to be encouraged from a young age, I have always had the ability to keep developing that visual language.
Your work feels both deeply intimate and universal. How has your relationship with the body, your own and others - evolved through your art?
My relationship with my body is constant work - sometimes a rollercoaster - but drawing the body, (others or my own) is always about finding a more neutral view point, to take the body away from social metaphors and standards and become at peace with its sharp edges and soft pillowy curves. Being interested rather than critical of the bodies in general has really helped to become more at peace with my own body's uniqueness.
Has your creative direction changed over time, or do you feel you’ve simply refined an instinct that’s always been there?
My subject seems to of stayed the same, but has developed more depth as I also, as a human, grow. I think its been about 8 years now since I sold my first drawing, the work has definitely evolved since then. My skills have also evolved, my voice has too and is forever doing so.
On process and practice
Your lines appear effortless, but there’s an incredible discipline in that simplicity. What does your creative process look like, from conception to completion?
If I am lucky its a live model, or an image I've taken that inspires the first lines. I draw and repeat until I feel I have a good understanding of the form and then start to abstract and reduce the amount of lines - so I can express in the least possible marks. This is where I feel the movement of the form starts to evolve.
How do you know when a piece is finished? Or perhaps, when to stop?
I don't - but I often create many versions of the same image and for me there will be certain aspects I enjoy in different versions, each is unique due to the limited time frame I give myself for each study.
Do you see drawing as meditative or is it something more visceral and immediate for you?
Super meditative. In an increasingly more digital age (and all the bad and good habits that are created from this) I find drawing is the one practice which takes me away from any modern distractions. You have to concentrate when drawing from real life. If you are not focusing on your subject then you will have lost what will make a drawing good, a unique observation. Drawing is more about seeing than it is about mark making.
On wellbeing and balance
Your work often captures stillness and breath, how do you find calm or clarity in your day-to-day life?
I try to have a rule for myself that if something after an hour feels wrong I will not continue that day. I don't think you can force creativity, you can only make space for it.
How does physical wellbeing feed your creative energy? Are there routines or practices that keep you grounded in your body while working so conceptually with it?
I would say I am quite a fit person and value my physical health. I think movement- whatever that it is to you (for me running, swimming, pilates - a long walk) is where you think the most clearly and allows you to process without acting on any concerns or problems, so you can come back to stillness with a clear(er) mind.
In the tension between discipline and freedom, where does your wellbeing sit?
In the middle and its something I'm working on (or a goal for 2026) As I know without setting some personal rules and routines, we can't really develop better relationships with ourselves, we will just stay in the old outdated version of us. I think freedom needs a slight boundary too, in order to feel safe - to grow even further.
You are based between London and Athens, where are your favourite places to go in each?
London is always home and I feel I've always had different lives in it. I love the main hall at Tate Britain, a walk along the river or in one of the parks, like Regent or Holland and then lunch in either Rochelle's Canteen or the Towpath in summer. Athens is a very different city - it never sleeps and the nights are very long. So I would say you really start your day at sunset, walk up Fillipapou to watch the sun go down from the sea and get the best view of the Acropolis then dine at one of the city's many modern tavernas and then go to an old timey bar like Galaxy.
On philosophy and future
The figures you draw feel timeless, stripped of distraction. What do you hope people feel when they encounter them?
A sense of personal inner enquiry.
Minimalism can be a kind of rebellion in a world obsessed with more, does that philosophy extend into your personal life?
I try to remind myself about what I truly need to be happy and to be authentic about my own needs. Asking myself questions like 'am I consuming something that is good for me?' and 'where is the consumption just excess?' I am seeing the questioning the justification so I avoid being sold on how to live - not how I'm trying to live.
What ideas or forms are you currently exploring? Where is your work and your thinking heading next?
I'm currently exploring how to transform my work into the 3D - I'm loving working with clay at the moment. Both because its a visceral material but it involves so much learning and patience. I think it's always good for adults to try and learn new skills without necessarily being set on perfecting it within the first try.
Talk us through your NÆRE piece. Conception and inspiration?
I wanted something that infused this sense of quiet growth, a shift and a journey of 'becoming'. The body needed this sense of movement - that needed to feel natural, light and free so there were lots of sketches, free and transformative feeling no definite end direction but a sense of abstract purpose and strength.
On art and the self
Your work feels like both vulnerability and strength distilled into line. Do you see art as a mirror of the self or a way to transcend it?
I do, but without necessarily trying. As drawing requires a sense of presence, so I try to do first and analyse after - therefore any personal reflection is true and without force.
If you could describe the essence of your art not in words, but in a single feeling, what would it be?
Untethered
You can see more of Alexandria's work at alexandriacoe.com.
