Home    Article Index

Asked about influences on her work, Lies Kraal responds immediately, "I'm influenced by everything!" She goes on to say that color and form are particularly important to her. Her 1940s-vintage stove has beautifully rounded enamel shapes, a curved deco look. Automobile design inspires her with fluidity of form and intensity of color. Kraal's own work has these same characteristics: richness of color and softness of form, which give her paintings a strongly sensuous feel. At the same time, they exude quietness and afford the viewer the opportunity to rest in their lustrous calm.

Kraal's work is distinguished by the extreme fineness of her surfaces. Their meticulousness and refinement would be the envy of any finish fetishist, but Kraal avoids the slick and brittle and produces instead a silky, perfectly smooth texture that gives the viewer a visual experience of tactile sensuousness. Some pieces feature an incised or raised line or lines, which have been referred to as "visual speed bumps" and which further encourage the viewer to slow down and luxuriate in the lush color and texture. The lines also function as a bare suggestion of horizon. Wax is applied to the surface of some pieces, creating interesting contrasts in texture.

Vibrant color is another important characteristic of Kraal's work. Kraal is a world traveler, and she seeks out interesting pigments wherever she goes. Included in this exhibition are paintings made with tika pigment (familiar as the red dot on the foreheads of Hindu women) and a mint green pigment Kraal found in Paris. Earlier work has featured azurite, acquired in Katmandu. Also in Katmandu, Kraal discovered skeins of wool, dyed a beautiful shade of her favorite color, blue, drying on the eaves of houses. These she brought home purely for the pleasure of looking at them.

Kraal will bring seven paintings to her upcoming exhibition at Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, all acrylic on hardboard panel. Sizes will range from single panels 23" x 23" to a 40" x 40" diptych. Single panels will include an elegant silvery rose painting with an uninterrupted surface and a vibrant red painting with an incised horizontal line spanning most of its width. Diptychs will be in horizontal format.

The subtle excitement in this particular body of work perhaps reflects the enthusiasm with which Kraal's work is being received in the international art community. La Colección Jumex Museum in Mexico City has commissioned a large site-specific installation for November, with a residency at the Chinati Foundation coming up shortly thereafter. Kraal's work is also represented in the Panza Collection in Milan.

With characteristic modesty, Kraal notes that some people pass by her work without even noticing it is there. When they do stop, however, they are likely to linger. The result, Kraal hopes, is that the viewer finds a moment of peace and pleasure in the midst of our chaotic world.

Home    Article Index    Top