About These In-Between Days (2019-present) :

“This new series signals hope and change. As our planet hurdles towards the unknown, these landscapes provide a foundation, yet remind us of the constant changes in climate occurring all around us—both the visible and invisible. Wind sweeps across the plane while new life grows and trees sway in Transformations (2020). Krieger’s introduction of spray paint as a medium offers an element of unpredictability—much like our current circumstances, the drips and drops “can only be controlled so much.”

Each piece is complex, dynamic and layered. As Krieger worked to express her feelings of being at a mid-point, she also inadvertently captured what many of us are experiencing right now. The world is at a crossroads and uneasy about which path we’ll go down. Krieger illustrates this anxiety and hope in her bright, ever-evolving, living, breathing paintings.” –Susan Eley, Gallery Director

During these difficult pandemic times, I have been finding respite and refuge in nature. I am once again painting outdoors, after many years of working predominantly in the studio. It has been healing to be in the shade of a forested landscape, noticing how the light pierces through the trees, how the branches intertwine, where they connect, how they relate.

These recent paintings are a direct evolution from my previous work, where atmospheric forces were dominant. I’ve reintroduced landscape elements such as branches and trees as an examination and play with the use of line and connection. We’ve all been looking at so many graphs and statistics, our eyes need a break from the hard edge and need to follow a different, more organic flowing pattern of line. Using spray paint gives me the ethereal atmospheric light I’m after, and contrasting it with thick opaque lines of oils for the intertwining branches serves to ground us in a visceral connection to earthly elements.

This new body of work started a couple of years pre-pandemic when I was confronting a different, more personal type of pause, one that had me examining my life at its mid-point, reassessing my priorities, examining what is most important, embracing and trusting in inevitable change. Using the forest and biodiversity as a metaphor, I was working out what it means to be a woman of mid-life and mid-career. During this early stage of the new work, I found inspiration in many artists and writings, specifically in the paintings of Hilma af Klint and her portrayal and celebration of all of the stages of life.

ABOUT THE CERAMICS:

These new ceramic sculptural works are a reflection of biodiversity and vitality, capturing natural elements in various stages of life. During these “in-between” days, the word I have been thinking about most is Vitality. What is vital? What is alive? Watching seemingly dead or slumbering woods, what will spring forth? What is the hidden potential, the hidden life that lies beneath? Clay, in its seemingly unalive state with endless potential, is the perfect medium for expressing metamorphosis and vitality.

In the Husks, Wildflowers, and Blossoms sculptures, I am re-identifying vitality and purposefulness by turning a fully functional, traditionally-formed vessel into a completely new entity. Beginning with a wheel-thrown vessel, I deconstruct and reconstruct until a newly vital form is conceived – one of a shedded skin, a husk of a previously ripe fruit, or a wildflower – no longer existing for a functional purpose, yet expressing it’s own state of being and beauty.

Nature teaches us everything about resilience and celebration of life cycles. Did you ever look at bare branches and wonder what state of life they are in? Whether they are dead, or dying, ghosts or skeletons of trees, or if they will miraculously bloom once again? The Brambles sculptures reflect bare winter branches, tangled and melding together, when you're not quite sure what state of life they hold. They are constructed using the traditional method of hand-pulling a functional ceramic handle, intentionally leaving the mark of the fingers imbedded into each pull. These “handles” are then formed into a brambly tangle and then glazed using specific formulas that change tone or “break” over the textures to illuminate indications of the hand.