After going through a traumatic experience as a hostage of Hamas, Andrei Kozlov, a Russian-Israeli, has decided to express his pain through art. rescued by an Israeli military operation following eight months of unimaginable suffering that involved enduring chains, blindfolds, and being bound with ropes, Kozlov has channeled his emotions into creating paintings.

In an effort to showcase his journey through captivity, which involved both physical and psychological torment, Kozlov is debuting his inaugural solo art exhibition in Chelsea. The collection he will be presenting reflects the hardships he endured while being held captive.

Originally from St. Petersburg and not of Jewish descent, Kozlov had relocated to Israel just 13 months prior to the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. His move to Israel served as an escape from the looming possibility of being conscripted into Russia’s military involvement in the conflict with Ukraine.

Before that move, Kozlov wondered, “What are the chances of being in a terror attack?”

Kozlov was working the Nova festival on that fateful day as an unarmed security guard, and captured by a terrorist. He was transported to Gaza, a journey depicted in “Highway to Hell,” a haunting piece that recalls the horrifying car ride with fellow hostage Shlomi Ziv.

The “So-Real Surreal” exhibit — set to open next month at the Lux Contemporary gallery — includes a dozen paintings that pierce the heart, with a nod to some of art’s most influential figures, including Picasso’s blue period and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” 

“To create something like this, it speaks for me,” Kozlov told The Post. “It’s another way to tell the story.”

The memory of being continually shuffled around for eight months by the terror group is brought to light in his abstract piece, “Maybe,” which shows a dark and narrow alleyway that Kozlov was routinely moved through, wondering whether he would ever make it out alive.  

He passed time in captivity finding blank sheets of paper that allowed him to get lost in drawing other worlds he could only dream of.

“It was just for my soul and to get my mind out of this prison,” said Kozlov, who was rescued along with three others during a June 2024 IDF special forces mission.

The cinematic raid by the elite commando team involved heavy gunfire and airstrikes to free Kozlov along with Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Noa Aragmani — who became the public face of the massacre when she was kidnapped by a motorcyle-riding terrorist. She was named this week as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year.

It’s one of his “three birthdays,” Koslov said of his rescue and surviving Oct. 7. “It’s the best day of my life.”

Once free, a blank canvas became his path to healing.

And his story is as much a New York story as it is a Middle East one. It was always Kozlov’s dream to come to New York – and he made it a reality after his rescue to pursue art therapy and the city’s art scene, working on his collection at spaces in Greenpoint and Chelsea.

Emanuel Friedman, whose gallery is hosting the art show, said the collection will find a home in museums “for years and years to come.”

“By accident, I became a symbol of hope,” Koslov, who lives in Midtown, conceded.

“I have a second chance. I need to use it.”