Susan Kraut

In her new exhibition of recent work, Chicago artist Susan Kraut presents still life paintings initially inspired by her recent time spent in Oxford, England. While continuing to explore still life themes that have been present in her work for a few years, this recent series reveals a shift away from efforts to accurately record subtle landscape views over her object-laden window sill. Instead, we are invited to participate in her memory of the dramatic skies and clouds she witnessed during her Autumn stay in Oxford. Says Kraut, "Between the dark, purplish-grays of heavy, foreboding rain clouds, an intense orange beam of raking sunlight might sometimes break through, illuminating the still-life objects on my windowsills like spotlights on a theater stage. The light changed so quickly; I was forced more than ever to rely on my memory of how this light felt."

In these paintings, Kraut takes liberties with the "reality" of the scene, inventing still life arrangements and compositions that may not have ever existed. Yet, through her observation and understanding of how light interacts with the physical objects before her, and her mastery in rendering the phenomena, Kraut slows down time for the viewer, and creates a palpable sense of place. Says Kraut" I carried the quinces, figs and berries that I had found on a recent trip through Provence, back to England, piled them on the windowsills of my second-floor flat; I added to them the leaves, berries and pods I found on my walks through Oxford. Of course, the fruit began to rot and shrivel, and the leaves began to dry and curl. The paintings became in part a document of their decay, a perfect complement to the swiftness of the changes in the skies and seasons.

Kraut has been teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for over 25 years. During that time she has influenced a generation of art students and artists that have learned the importance of observation, and who now echo those values and ideas in their own work.

Says Kraut, "Through all the shifts and fashions which come and go in the art world, I have found there are always students who want to learn how to paint and draw the world around them, who are passionate about looking at the world and learning how to use paint to represent how they see it. Like all teachers, I am constantly re-inspired by working with them - seeing their enthusiasm and commitment to the activity, watching them struggle, take risks, and experiment. "

Teaching the value of observation has been an important part of Kraut's teaching methodology, and it is a lesson found in her work, as well. " Because everything in our daily lives is so fast. " Says Kraut, "My goal is to create something that just slows you down and gets you to really look at the world."

In past Chicago Tribune reviews, Critic Alan Artner has referred to Kraut's work as: "...art that strives to occupy the still point of the turning world and makes the attempt with utmost conviction."
and:
"The intensity and quality of light changes from piece to piece, as do the still-life subjects. That change, in turn, brings drama and at times a melancholy deeper than one would have thought possible. As with poets who thrive under the strictest verse forms, Kraut is an artist who succeeds by exercising the tightest control."

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