Trudy Kraft

Education 

1996             Teaching Certification, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, Pa.

1976-79        Arts Students League, New York, N.Y.

1976             B.A., Hamilton College; art major

1974/78        Residency, Rancho Linda Vista, Oracle, Ariz.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

2011           Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.

2009           Jefferson Medical School Library, Philadelphia.Pa.

2008           Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.

2005           Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.

2004           Sueno, Telluride, Co.

2004           Show of Hands, Philadelphia, Pa.

2003           Waco Art Center, Waco, Tex.

2003           Kemp Center for the Arts, Wichita Falls, Tex.

2000           Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Tex.

1999           Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, Tex.

1994           Axis Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.

                   Imperial Calcasieu Museum, Lake Charles, La.

1991           Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia, Pa.

1984           Oni Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.

1980           Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo, Tex.

AWARDS 

1993            Finalist, Pew Fellowships in the Arts Disciplinary.

1992-4         Award, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pa.

1990            Award, Kyoto City Museum, Kyoto, Japan.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 

2010            Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.

2006            Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, Md. “Kaleidoscopic.”

2005            Moore Collge of Art and Design, Philadelphia, Pa. “Multiplies: Am I Repeating Myself?” Jurors: Timothy Hawkesworth, Alice Oh, Julia Zagar.    

2005            U.S. Ambassador’s Residence. Stockholm, Sweden. “Art in Embassies Program.”

2003            Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pa. “In Depth.” Jurors: Maida Milone, Bill Scott.

2003            Cheltenham Center for the Arts, Cheltenham, Pa. ”61^st Annual Awards Painting  Exhibition.” Juror: Dr. Nancy Heller.

2002             Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, Md. “September Gallery Artists.”

2001             The Community Arts Center, Wallingford, Pa. “Abstract.”

2001             Ian Peck Fine Paintings, New York, N.Y. “Hamilton Makes Art.”

2000             Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pa. “Multiplies.” Juror: Susan Rosenberg.

1999             The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa. “Art of the State: Pennsylvania '99.” Juror: James Mahoney.            

1998             The Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, N.J. “Transcending the Surface.”

1998             Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pa. “Works on Paper.” Juror: Anne R. Fabbri.

1996             Gallery of the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. “Philadelphia Artists for the Homeless.”

1995             Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, De. “Return to Beauty.” Curator: Anna Francis.    

1995             Attic Gallery, Portland, Ore.

1994             Owen Patrick Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa. “Women's Caucus for Art.” Juror: Dr. Ofelia   Garcia.

1994             Stedman Art Gallery, Rutgers University, Camden, N.J. ”National Works on Paper.”   Jurors: Faith Ringgold, Elisabeth Sussman.                         

1994             Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pa. “Color Now.” Juror: Laura Rosenstock.

1993             Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, N.J.

1990             Kyoto City Museum, Kyoto, Japan.

1990            Mitsukoshi Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.

1990             “Facades Imaginaires.” Grenoble, France.

1987             Cooper-Hewitt Museum Shop, New York, N.Y.

1985             “American Art for the Tea Ceremony.” Duxbury, Mass.

1984             Mercer County College, Mercer, N.J.

1981             American Club, Tokyo, Japan.

1980             Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.

1979             Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, N.Y.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS 

Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, Tex.

Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, N.Y.

E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Corporation, Wilmington, De.

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

St Rita Hospital, Lima, Oh.

Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Beneficial Life Insurance, Wilmington, De.

Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoof, Rosen & Quentel, Washington, D.C.

Hackensack Medical Center, Hackensack, N.J.

Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald McDonald House, Philadelphia, Pa.`

Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Tex.

Women's Health Research Institute, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, Tex.

The Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Amarillo, Tex.

Robert M. Rogers Hospice Center, Tyler, Tex.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y.

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, De.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sozanski, Edward J., “ Looking Eastward.” The Philadelphia Enquirer, June 10, 2005.

Fallon, Roberta. “Kraft Work.” Philadelphia Weekly, January 21, 2004.

Ingals, Hunter. "Kraft Feeds Visual Hunger." Amarillo Sunday News-Globe, November 14,1999.

Chapin, Courtney. "Transcending the Surface." Town Topics, July 15, 1998.

Rosen, Jennifer. "World Travel Influences Artist's Style." Main Line Life. June1, 1995.

Francis, Anna. "Trudy Kraft." Art Matters, April 1994.

Rice, Robin, "Kraft Works." City Paper. March 18-25, 1994.

Larmoth, Jeanie. "Second Wind for the Fan." Town and Country, vol.141 (June 1987).

Louie, Elaine. "Home Beat." The New York Times. Feb. 26, 1987.

Saint-Gilles, Amaury. "Art: People and Places." Mainichi Daily News. May 22, 1982.

Artist Statement

The technique used for my paintings is a combination of water- color, sumi ink, gouache, and frisket. Usually I begin with water-color, freely painted. I then create a second dimension of pattern by masking the surface with frisket. Additional structure emerges through the application of sumi ink. Finally, I use gouache to augment and adorn, until I have achieved the desired effect.
My paintings begin with a visual idea or feeling. I find that the first versions of a particular idea generate their own variations organically, so one piece builds upon another. Thus, early paintings in a particular series become important sources for the paintings that follow.
I regard my paintings as a physical expression of the underlying interconnectedness of all things. Sometimes I feel as if I am making visible the hidden structures that lie just beyond ordinary perception. As a visual artist, I am conscious of a paradox: if there is a beauty that transcends the senses, our only access to it is through the senses.
As I build my images, I am aware of my indebtedness to a wide range of cultural traditions. In Japan I was exposed to time-honored, sophisticated uses of the decorative arts. African masks, textiles, and baskets have sensitized me to the interaction of pattern, surface, and texture. I am emboldened by the luminosity of color in Thai silks and Indian embroidery.
I have also been visually and technically inspired by Aboriginal "dream paintings," which demonstrate the abiding significance of content even in decorative abstraction. These and other multicultural influences, which I embrace as part of our common planetary heritage, continue to nourish my work in conscious and unconscious ways.