Francien Krieg - Softly undone

I am Francien Krieg, a Dutch figurative painter. For more than 25 years, the human body has been at the center of my work. I studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and further developed my painting at the Free Academy. My work has been exhibited internationally and selected for the Figurativas competition at MEAM in Barcelona. In 2023 I took second place in Painting of the Year. Recently I was among the 25 finalists for Artist of the Year 2027. For years I mainly painted older women in my series Precious Bodies, about which a book was published in 2018. These paintings are about aging, visibility, and the narrow beauty ideals with which we view bodies. What moves me are the traces of a life lived: changing skin, a characteristic posture, the presence of someone who is more than her appearance. In recent years I have also turned my gaze toward young men and the uncertainty of puberty. In portraits, figures in water, boxers, and boys with parts of a harness I explore the tension between vulnerability and the expectation to be strong. Protection can offer safety, but it can also become a weight you carry with you. Although the ages of my models differ, the questions remain connected. What does a body reveal? What do we try to hide? How much space do we give each other to change, to grow older, or to not know for a moment? The works in this duo auction spring from those questions. I seek beauty in which discomfort and imperfection may also exist. For moments when a glance or a gesture makes something felt that words fail to express.

Estimate:£1,016.66

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