ROBERT KRAISS
Robert Kraiss creates dense, labor-intensive drawings that dissolve before our eyes and then reemerge in a psychedelic spectrum of color. The artist's spontaneous mark-making and physical process brings his mythological imagery to the brink of destruction. The selection of works pictured here are culled from several of the artist's series, illustrating his diverse influences and propensity towards creative experimentation.
LARGE FORMAT WORKS
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Self Portrait as an Officer), 2013
colored pencil on paper
51 1/4 x 39 1/4 in
130 x 100 cm
Robert Kraiss
untitled (Melancholy), 2021
pencil, colored pencil on paper
100 1/2 x 74 3/4 in
255 x 190 cm
Robert Kraiss
untitled (Melancholy), 2021
pencil, colored pencil on paper
100 1/2 x 74 3/4 in
255 x 190 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Das Duell Balthus vs. R. Crumb), 2019
pencil, colored pencil on paper
94 1/2 x 78 3/4 in
240 x 200 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Odilon Redon Paraphrase), 2012
colored pencil on paper
39 1/4 x 36 1/4 in
100 x 92 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Mozambique Primal Scream II), 2018
colored pencil on paper
70 3/4 x 59 1/4 in
180 x 150 cm
SMALL FORMAT WORKS
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Eric Stanton Paraphrase III), 2022
colored pencil on paper
14 x 10 1/4 in
35.5 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (The Duel I Series, Leonor Fini & Clovis Trouille), 2018
colored pencil on paper
10 1/4 x 14 in
26 x 35.5 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Eric Stanton Paraphrase IV), 2021
colored pencil on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Neon Goya I), 2022
day-glow watercolor on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Myth II), 2022
day-glow watercolor, pencil on paper
11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in
29 x 20 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (d6) , 2023
colored pencil on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (woman), 2021
watercolor on paper
15 3/4 x 11 1/2 in
40 x 29 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (d9) , 2023
colored pencil on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Abstract VI), 2022
mixed media on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Kurt Schwitters), 2021
colored pencil on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled, 2015
colored pencil and acrylic on paper
39 1/4 x 27 1/2 in
100 x 70 cm
Robert Kraiss
Untitled (Eric Stanton Paraphrase 14), 2023
colored pencil on paper
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in
35 x 26 cm
Galerie Norbert Arns, Köln, 2019. Photo by Simon Vogel.
EXHIBITIONS
SLICES
New Works by Gallery Artists
OCTOBER 10 - NOVEMBER 11, 2024
ROBERT KRAISS
JULY 13 - AUGUST 23, 2023
SLIGHT OF HAND 2022
Small Works by Contemporary Artists
Goya Deep / Goya Flat
NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 31, 2022
ROBERT KRAISS
Born in 1972 in Bonn, Germany
Lives and works in Cologne, Germany
Photo by Roberto De Simone-
Robert Kraiss studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Georg Herold (master class student) and Oswald Wiener from 2000-2006. His work has been featured in exhibitions across Europe, including solo exhibitions at Tobias Hantmann Studio, Berlin; Norbert Arns Gallery, Cologne; Desaga Gallery, Cologne; and Kilchmann Gallery, Zürich, Switzerland. Kraiss has been awarded grants by the Stiftung Kunstfonds Foundation, the Rheinlande and Westfalen Art Association, and the Friends of Düsseldorf Art Academy. He frequently lectures on experimental drawing and recently completed a substitute professorship at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Halle Germany.
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Mepaintsme spoke with the artist to discuss contradiction, inspirations, and aggressive means of expression.
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EDUCATION
2000-2006 Masters, Düsseldorf Art Academy with Georg Herold and Oswald Wiener, Germany
1993-1997 Diploma, Occupational Therapy, Hogeschool Heerlen, the Netherlands
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2020 Robert Kraiss, Tobias Hantmann Studio, Berlin, Germany
2019 French Rubbing Trance Bleeding, Norbert Arns Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2018 Pleasanteries contre le progres (Jokes Against Progress), Norbert Arns Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2017 L.L.Q.O.O.H.L.J, Lungengasse, Cologne, Germany
2016 Das unironischste Rot (The Most Unironic Red), Susanne Burmester Gallery, Rügen, Germany
2015 Diana and Actaeon, Artothek, Cologne, Germany
2011 Baume Mapic, Desaga Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2011 Marquise Dance Hall, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 Cleanth Wiegand Solger, Desaga Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2007 Ich, Zeichengeilo, Kilchmann Gallery, Zürich, Switzerland
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2022 Works on Paper on Fridges, Harkawik, New York
2022 Edition for Jagla Showroom, Cologne, Germany
2022 Aviator Meise, Rhenania, Cologne, Germany
2021 FROM MARCH TO MARCH, Norbert Arns Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2020 Warsaw Biennial, Warsaw, Poland
2019 Munch Guests, Edvard Munch House, Warnemünde, Germany
2019 Pantaloneonsmühlengasse (Pantaloneons Mills Alley), Cologne, Germany
2018 Empty stomach at zero gravity, Opdahl Gallery, Stavanger, Norway
2016 Collective Display, Mehrwertvitrine, Aachen, Germany
2015 Welcome to Lung Alley, Lungengasse, Cologne, Germany
2015 Susanne Burmester Gallery, Rügen, Germany
2012 Desaga Gallery, Art Miami, United States
2012 Desaga Gallery, Art Cologne, Germany
2008 90° is Hard, Simultanhalle, Cologne, Germany
2007 The Magic Pedestal, Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin
2006 The truth tut gut (The truth is good), Montgomery, Berlin
2005 Compilation II, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
AWARDS / GRANTS2012 Artist Monograph Grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds Foundation, Bonn, Germany
2011 Istanbul Grant, City of Cologne, Germany
2010 Annual Artist Grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds Foundation, Bonn, Germany
2008 Grant to produce MAXIM exhibition catalogue, Stiftung Kunstfonds Foundation, Bonn, Germany
2007 Artist Grant, Rheinlande and Westfalen Art Association, Düsseldorf, Germany
2004 Scholarship, Friends of Düsseldorf Art Academy, Germany