Bio
Ann Kraus is an abstract landscape artist whose acrylic paintings and mono-prints depict her interpretation of natural settings and the eternally changing environment. Her work explores light and color as a vehicle for the exploration and celebration of the natural world. The subject matter of skyscapes represents a perfect metaphor for the evolving and changing environment that she has encountered in travels around the globe. Her abstract mono-prints explore the complexities of memory and interpretation of time and place through vibrant color and texture.
Ms. Kraus grew up in Newton, Mass. and has created art from a very early age. She was encouraged in her craft by her Mother, who was also a painter with deep roots in the Philadelphia art world of the 1920’s.
Following a family relocation to Southern New Jersey, her drawing and painting were enhanced by private lessons with an abstract impressionist artist, Marie Pagenstecher, who laid a solid foundation for Ann’s unique personal style. She supplemented the instruction during high school by attending Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. She attended William Paterson University earning a BA in Art. The school’s focus on painting was emphasized by the close association with Ben Shahn the well known mid- century American painter for whom the art building was named.
Following college, she settled in Montclair, New Jersey a town known as an artistic community since the mid-1800’s. The area is also in close proximity to the vibrant world of New York City. She has also spent time at her second home in western Connecticut where she has been inspired by the peace and tranquility of the Litchfield Hills.
She is a member of The Art Students League of New York where she has worked with Ronnie Landfield a world-renowned abstract impressionist. She has earned special recognition in the annual group shows. Additionally, she has studied at the Yard School of Art within the Montclair Museum of Art and has exhibited in local group shows. As a member of Studio Montclair, she continues to exhibit paintings and receive positive reviews and acknowledgements for her work.
A recent solo exhibition of her work at the Pleiades Gallery in NYC entitled “ Above and Beyond” was reviewed by Gibson Contemporary and can be found at www.gibsoncontemporary.com. He noted that the “Impressionistic events in nature naturalistically depicted and those surreally suggesting natural events are the dual streams in Ann Kraus’s work. Her work is a portrayer of ineffables. The complete oeuvre represented…is easily more than the sum of its parts, because their combination does not create a resulting theory or solution to answer all plausible questions, but alternately confronts the sources of inspiration and the products of the imagination. Together they set the mind dancing on the edge of its next rage of questions.”
She is a member of The Pleiades Gallery one of the oldest cooperative galleries located in the Chelsea area of New York City. She can be found at Instagram at annkraus2567.