Pia Krajewski

Pia Krajewski, studio portrait by Gregor Guski © 2020Courtesy of the Artist

PIA KRAJEWSKI

Pia Krajewski (b. 1990 Cologne) has developed her own aesthetic language which expresses itself through the following three components: luminous colours, soft shapes and the structure of her 3-D resembling subject matters.

Her work is tangible yet abstract. With its three-dimensionality, sculptural approach and textural references, it brings abstraction to life, though its subjects are not always decipherable at first glance. There is a "tension" between familiarity and foreignness of the shapes.

Objects are at the core of Krajewski’s subject matter; however the new vitality she brings to them is without bounds and highly palpable. The combination of the foreign and the familiar found in Krajewski’s shapes are reminiscent of the oscillations of perceptions. The sense of familiarity that the viewer experiences when encountering her works is ever-present, but ultimately impossible to pin down to an identifiable subject. The almost "déjà-vu" aspect of her works leave the viewer eager to fill the blanks of their perceptions.

The life inherent in Krajewski’s art originates from the marriage of their organic qualities and their depth. Krajewski blurs the line between abstract and figurative, as her subjects may seem familiar, but their newfound context and acute levels of detail are initially foreign to the viewer.

Drawing from a wide array of sources of inspiration, including architectural ornaments, fruit, armors, hair, and pillars, Krajewski’s art continuously pushes its viewers to question what they are faced with. The anthropomorphic and organic aspects of her work are what bring it to a specific space where the lines are blurred between the tangible and the intangible.

The large scale of Pia Krajewski’s works captivates the viewer and transports them to a world where their sight can solely guide them to grasp and appreciate the subject matter. This unique format, where detail is highly visible, enhances the larger-than-life persona that her subjects occupy.

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Ast), 2020 Oil on canvas, 150 × 120 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Bonbon), 2020 Diptych - Oil on canvas, 180 × 300 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Pfanne), 2020 Oil on canvas, 120 × 150 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Companions), 2020 Triptych - Oil on canvas, 230 x 450 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Bündel), 2020Oil on canvas, 120 × 150 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Haarvulkan), 2020

Oil on canvas, 200 × 180 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Schirme), 2020 Diptych - Oil on canvas, 180 × 300 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Pinienzapfen), 2018

Oil on canvas, 180 × 150 cm

Pia Krajewski Untitled (Säulen Fabrik), 2020 Diptych - Oil on canvas, 200 × 400 cm

Pia KrajewskiSelected installation views

Pia Krajewskiuntitled(soft built), curated by Artuner (Installation view, online only, January to February 2021) Click here to read more

Pia KrajewskiFLOATING CRATERS, curated by Artuner (Installation view, online only, May to June 2020) Click here to read more

Pia KrajewskiLost and Found in Paradis, curated by Artuner (Installation view, Rue de Paradis, October 12th to October 30th 2019) Click here to read more

Pia KrajewskiCOME CLOSE AND STEP BACK, curated by Artuner (Installation view, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, April to May 2019) Click here to read more

Pia KrajewskiPLANET 58, K21 Kunstsammlung NRW, Duesseldorf, 2019

Pia KrajewskiTHE WORLD’S YOUR OYSTER, Palazzo Capris, Turin (Installation view, November - January 2019) Click here to read more

Pia Krajewski72nd INTERNATIONAL BERGISCHE KUNSTAUSSTELLUNG (Installation view, Kunstmuseum Solingen, 2018)

Pia KrajewskiBorn 1990 in Cologne, GermanyBased in Düsseldorf and Berlin, Germany

since 2018 founding member of the artist collective Gruppe Kilo since 2017 founding member and curator of the off-space sonneundsolche

EDUCATION2018 Meisterschülerin (Diplom with Distinction) of Professor Andreas Schulze 2018 Akademiebrief (Masters Degree) 2011 - 2018 Painting study with Professor Andreas Schulze2016 - 2017 Painting study with Dietmar Lutz2010 - 2018 Fine Art Study at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany

SCHOLARSHIPS / RESIDENCIES2018 - 2019Winsor & Newton scholarship - artist in residence programm at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany 2016Residency - Interdisciplinary Project Montepulciano, Music and Art College, Cologne, Germany/ Montepulciano, Italy

EXHIBITIONS2020"Matter of Material", Raum +, Essen "Geister", Bistro 21, Leipzig"Floating Craters", ARTUNER, virtual exhibition"Into 2020", ARTUNER, virtual exhibition

2019"Lost & Found in Paradise", ARTUNER, Paris "The Presence of the Dim Planet", NEW NOW Art Space, Frankfurt"COME CLOSE & STEP BACK - Irina Ojovan & Pia Krajewski", Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin"Wie viele Spuren das sind", Collective Show, Gruppe Kilo, Hebebühne Wuppertal "Painting Painting Painting", Raum Vollreinigung, Berlin "Planet 58", K21 Kunstsammlung NRW, Düsseldorf

2018"Flitz", Collective Show, Gruppe Kilo, Studio 101 - Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin"The World's Your Oyster", hosted by ARTUNER, Palazzo Capris, Turin, Italy"72. Internationale Bergische Kunstausstellung", Kunstmuseum Solingen "Matilda's Dream" - Graduation Show, Sommerrundgang, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf "Malbüro" Collective Show, Gruppe Kilo, Gold + Beton, Cologne Exhibition on the occasion of the 6. Eb-Dietzsch-Art-Award for painting 2018, Gera "Haengung Total", sonneundsolche, Düsseldorf "a clue", Duesseldorf Photo 2018, Bookstore Walther König at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf

2017Exhibition on the occasion of the von Rundstedt Art Award 2017, von Rundstedt, Düsseldorf Exhibition on the occasion of the Hogan Lovells Art Award 2017, Hogan Lovells, Düsseldorf "WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK“, sonneundsolche, Düsseldorf

2016"The Happiest Day“, Golestani Gallery, Düsseldorf Exhibition on the occasion of the Hogan Lovells Art Award 2016, Hogan Lovells, Düsseldorf "Fenêtre“, Bookstore Walther König at Kunsthalle DüsseldorfExamination Show, Sommerrundgang, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf "Full of Emotion“, Pop;68, Cologne"Meisenberg, Krajewski, Rodrian“, Düsseldorf "Durchs Hintertürchen ins Flürchen“, Gebrueder Pimpernelli, Essen

2015"Moltofill“, Oberbilk, Düsseldorf

2013"Das ist alles deine Schulze“, Philara Collection, Düsseldorf "Kunstakademie Filmabend“, Black Box Cinema, Düsseldorf

2012#Turm 06, „Geranien“, Ludwigturm, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg "Ehmann, Krajewski", Asta Offspace of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf