Jeff Kraus
“Working through one idea across multiple images. The work became more focused and I started to work slower and smarter.”
Interview by Charlie Hawksfield
Could you tell us a bit about yourselves and your background? Where did you study?
I was born and raised in a small town in southern Michigan. I lived on a lake growing up and spent almost all of my time outside and in the water. I am a Pisces so it worked out well, ha! I made a ton of art as a kid but then turned to music in Middle / Highschool. Once I decided to go to college, I studied Printmaking alongside Painting and Art History at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. I fell in love with printmaking and brought that passion into my process-based paintings. I graduated with a BFA in 2011 and started a full-time studio practice. I hung around for several years making art and playing music full time. I then moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2017 at the age of 32.
In 2013 you told Emma Higgins "I still have a lot to figure out and learn about the images I am creating," he says. "I hope one day that I can bring it all together and make some really successful works of art.” What do you feel you have learned in the years since and do you feel like you have achieved your goal?
Wow, that was almost 10 years ago, Ha! My practice has changed and evolved tremendously since then. I have learned to trust my intuition and take more risks. The work is never done and there are so many images that can be made. Material, process, and curiosity are what drive me to constantly be making. I have moved away from paint as my primary medium and have been experimenting with different plastics, and digital processes. One of my main goals as a creative is to never be bored. I got fascinated with transferring digital images onto canvas with gel medium and I have been spending most of my time playing with that process.
You were a long-term resident of Grand Rapids. If someone had never heard of Grand Rapids do you think you could give them a sense of it through the paintings you made there, or is the connection more personal? And how did the 2017 move to Brooklyn change the way you made images?
I wouldn't say that my paintings were a direct reflection of Grand Rapids the place but more so a representation of me growing up as a young 20 something artist. The work I made there will always reflect a time of growth and discovery. Moving to Brooklyn certainly changed the way I worked. Smaller space and less time were a big shift for me. I started to use less paint and worked more in series. Working through one idea across multiple images. The work became more focused and I started to work slower and smarter.
You recently began selling digital art as NFTs through the platform Foundation. Did you make this work specifically for this format? If so did you feel that the format informed the work from the outset?
I made the work specifically for NFTs on Foundation. This my first time making something purely digital. I struggled in the beginning stages to make something authentic to me and my practice. I was being heavily influenced by the platform and needed to wash that away. Once I broke out of that initial funk the work started to feel like an extension of my physical practice in the digital space.
x | x, NFT on Foundation
You mentioned in an interview that you hardly use brushes anymore. Was this a gradual shift away from brushes, or did it happen all at once. How do the tools (scrapers, rollers, spray cans) you use evolve through a series of paintings? Do you use one repeatedly or do they come and go throughout the process?
Definitely a gradual shift. I still use brushes in the prep work but rarely after. They felt too familiar and I had too much control over the outcome. Plastic scrapers and the use of my hands directly smearing the paint became integral to the evolution of my work alongside mark making with spray paint instead of a pencil or charcoal. Sometimes I will fixate on a certain tool and use and abuse it until it either breaks or loses the magic. I am very hard on my tools and my surfaces.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
I honestly LOVE this work by Takeshi Murata.
I am also a huge Black Dice fan so the audio element is a big bonus for me. I never gave much attention to digital work in the past and it has been fun to find new artists in the space.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
Nothing in the pipeline. I usually take the summers off to enjoy the outdoors**.** I have been head down working on a new series of works directly related to my digital pieces.
All images are courtesy of the artist
Date of publication: 20/05/21
