Emily Kraus works inside a metal cubic structure around which she stretches a raw canvas loop with no end, allowing for space to move around her body, rather than the other way around. She first invented the apparatus to reconfigure the spatial constraints of her assigned eight-by-eight foot studio at London’s Royal College of Art, but has since recognised how its restrictions have served as the starting point for an entirely new approach to her practice. The mechanism itself – and the canvas loop which she manually rotates around the frame – can be interpreted as a metaphor for the cyclical world. Her method is characterised by a continuous oscillation between periods of impromptu, active mark-making and moments of meditative rumination. The resulting paintings are aptly termed stochastic, meaning that they are formed of seemingly random probability distributions that can be played upon, but ultimately yield unpredictable results.
Due to the constricted dimensions of space during her making process, Kraus can only construct the appearance of the full paintings in her mind. She explains: “Using this apparatus is like painting with blinders on. I hold the memory of surrounding marks as I focus on what I can see, forcing my eyes to layer linear time like ears do when composing a musical score. This process forces me to remain with the present moment." Each work requires prolonged periods of deliberation as Kraus introduces more paint to the rollers, which spreads, grows and confines itself within structured repeating lines that layer themselves over and over again. New marks and shapes gradually acquire meaning, often exhibiting an organic quality resembling the repetitive, yet never quite identical, motifs akin to the ever-changing patterns found in nature. Upon closer inspection, this pattern-like iconography might recall the sinuous texture of snakeskin, an intricate network of veins, or the fluctuations of an increased heart rate. From afar, one might even recognise the warping frequencies of audio waveforms as their signal varies in strength.
Informed by her extensive background in meditative, yogic and somatic practices, Kraus’ process is distinctly contemplative and reflective in nature. To create an organic image within a rigid system requires listening, attention and choreography of movement. The transportive nature of her paintings act as a portal to an alternate state of being, reflecting a continuous and cyclical universe amidst the tangible and often constrained realities of our existence.
Emily Kraus (b. 1995) received her Painting MA from the Royal College of Art in London (2022) and a BA in Religious Studies from Kenyon College (2017). Recent solo and two person exhibitions include: Ouroboros, Galería Mascota, Mexico City, Mexico 2024; Nest Time, The Sunday Painter, London, UK, 2023 (solo); Matija Čop and Emily Kraus, Sapling Gallery, London, UK 2023. Selected group exhibitions include: Bloomberg New Contemporaries, Camden Arts Center, London UK 2024; Painting As It Were (Painting As Is III), Kadel Wilborn, Dusseldorf, DE 2024; Echoes Across Surfaces, Duarte Sequeira HQ, Braga, Portugal, 2023;
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK 2023; The Amber Room, Matt's Gallery, London, 2023;
New Contemporaries, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, UK 2023;Young and Restless, Stable Gallery, S-chanf, Switzerland, 2023; A Body of Work, Grove Collective, London, UK 2022; My Mother was a Computer, Indigo+Madder, London, UK 2022; and Shadows, Stable Gallery, S-chanf, Switzerland, 2022. Kraus won the Hopper Prize (2023) and was shortlisted for the John Moore Painting Prize (2023.)