Aiden Kringen
Born in California, Aiden began to develop his aesthetic approach from an early age. He has always had a keen eye for detail, grounded in a gift for looking closely at the human experience. “I’ve always been interested in observing people,” he recalls, “and in the details of how we interact with one another.” From his mother, an artist and graphic designer, he learned the fundamentals of composition and typography, the nuances of positive and negative space and the relationships between them. Using sheets of Letraset, proved particularly instrumental in developing a methodology for layering and collage, which continue to inform his works on canvas and paper.
Drawing has always been central to his approach. He studied vintage anatomy atlases and drew meticulously in his journals, working through myriad permutations of bones and skin, angle and pose, muscles in motion. He arrived at an understanding of the figure that is both intuitive and virtuosic. On acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Kringen lays down linework with a Micron pen in ever-more-complex compositions, often with the addition of gloss mediums to bring out the layers’ reflectivity and prismatic character. In some pieces he incorporates gold and silver leaf to heighten drama and luxuriance, recalling the mosaic-like work of Gustav Klimt and influence of Expressionist Egon Schiele.
Aiden’s signature technique fuses drawing and painting, line and brushstroke, with fragmented shapes underpinning the imagery. His hypersensitivity to likeness and gesture is key, for this is what distinguishes his portraits from those by artists who strive to depict idealized beauty as the main objective. Yes, there is an undeniable beauty to Kringen’s subjects, but it does not follow strictly conventional paradigms. He is not painting archetypes, but rather illuminating the essential characters of real people in a highly refined genre of psychological portraiture.
Drawing has always been central to his approach. He studied vintage anatomy atlases and drew meticulously in his journals, working through myriad permutations of bones and skin, angle and pose, muscles in motion. He arrived at an understanding of the figure that is both intuitive and virtuosic. On acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Kringen lays down linework with a Micron pen in ever-more-complex compositions, often with the addition of gloss mediums to bring out the layers’ reflectivity and prismatic character. In some pieces he incorporates gold and silver leaf to heighten drama and luxuriance, recalling the mosaic-like work of Gustav Klimt and influence of Expressionist Egon Schiele.
Aiden’s signature technique fuses drawing and painting, line and brushstroke, with fragmented shapes underpinning the imagery. His hypersensitivity to likeness and gesture is key, for this is what distinguishes his portraits from those by artists who strive to depict idealized beauty as the main objective. Yes, there is an undeniable beauty to Kringen’s subjects, but it does not follow strictly conventional paradigms. He is not painting archetypes, but rather illuminating the essential characters of real people in a highly refined genre of psychological portraiture.
