VALERIE KRAUSE

Galerie Greta Meert is pleased to show recent work by Valerie Krause (°1976 Herdecke, Germany). This is the second collaboration between the gallery and the artist. Krause started her artistic career as a student in stonemasonry. The training introduced her to the practical and categorical treatment of materials such as stone or concrete. Later, she shifts direction. At the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Krause develops her sculpture techniques. Her artistic path is defined by a harmonious engagement with both nature and culture.

Valerie Krause’s method is synthetic; her design is free and open. In her work’s composition, there’s a large tension, both on a material level–static/dynamic, hard/soft, solid/volatile–as in terms of design: open/ closed, geometric/anthropomorphic, streamlined/erratic. Transition moments, such as the transformation of materials or a change of direction, are respected, oftentimes even emphasised. It’s as if the sculptures involve a series of contrasts, of softness and hardness, smooth and rough, colour and anti-colour, et cetera.

Krause’s free plastic art is determined by the characteristics of the very tactile materials used, and their combinations–or more spatial constructions, with a strong linearity that creates certain lines of fracture in space. A pronounced plasticity makes sure the works don’t blend with their surroundings.