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The series of ceramic paintings Krijn Kroes (1994) is showing at Prospects were made in his signature dark colour palette. For these works, Kroes collected various plants and pressed these into clay to create fossil-like reliefs. He subsequently glazed these clay prints. The iridescent glaze changes colour depending on the light, like an oil slick. The longer you look at it, the more colours, shapes, and depth you see.
As a child, Kroes was sometimes allowed to accompany his grandfather while he conducted ecological research into bats. The bunkers and icehouses they entered were always pitch-black at first. Their eyes then gradually got used to the lack of light, enabling them to discern the animals hanging from the ceiling ledges.
Nature and darkness play an important role in Kroes’s oil paintings, ceramic paintings, and sculptures. He not only experienced both phenomena during the trips he made with his grandfather, but also while growing up in the rural Dutch Veluwe area where the nights are much darker than in the city. He is drawn to the intense and rich colours of the darkness; colours you are only able to see these when you continue to look for a long time. The artist is also interested in the fear sometimes caused by natural phenomena in the dark. Apart from this tension, Kroes’s artworks also evoke the same sense of curiosity and awe that may sometimes creep up on you in a dark environment.
Text: Sarah van Binsbergen
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)