Maja Lilian Krakau
Maja Lilian Krakau’s process is direct, spontaneous and improvised. Maja works intuitively by applying a variety of different dilutions of colour on square and nearly square canvases and paper formats. The process of painting, which begins with the preparation of the paint and the painting surface, foremost is a very sensual one. The application of colour to the surface can be done either with a powerful stroke or a gentle touch. Intuitively placed gestures, such as powerfully flowing, cautiously searching or suddenly faltering brushwork, determine the form and colour intensity.
By layering colours, first the unity of the white canvas, then the unity of the existing colour form is broken. The search for the final colour form becomes more complex and runs the risk of getting lost in chaos. This process is often difficult to endure. It requires a certain unconscious state in which incompleteness, disorder, chaos and even destruction must be allowed. Everything is possible: the developing colour form can lead to clarity, a certain truth and certainty, but also to complete dissolution.
It is crucial to know when a piece is done. Changes at this point risk the loss of immediacy and freshness. Once a piece loses this, it can only be reworked into something completely new. The moment a process concludes, Maja is already assessing that which she could not achieve and thus the process begins anew.
See Maja’s work below!