Maria Kreyn: a millennial with an Old Master's hand

Hailing from a family of unusual thinkers and polymaths, she has crafted an unconventional, self-architected path, combining an interest in the sciences with a passion for the literary and poetic.

After rigorous training in classical drawing, Maria studied philosophy and mathematics at the University of Chicago. At 20 she left for Europe, trusting that its wealth of museums and culture would benefit her more than conventional tuition.

Maria then settled in Norway to live and work alongside a master painter. She observed him and several other artists at work over the years, which informed her approach to the technical side of drawing and painting. Of her craft, Maria explains: “I’m trying to build an original language through collaging imagination and citation, a sort of remix of past and present”.

Now based in Brooklyn, New York, Maria has made-up for her solitary years in Europe. While living in one of the world’s most vibrant cities, she has built a social network that has embraced her interpretation on classical painting and how this drives her translation of human experience in the modern world.

“When I was younger, I used to think I needed to paint like a man,” she continues. “Later I wondered what it meant to paint like a woman. Now I try to paint beyond that binary, like a human being. When I paint women, I ask, how vulnerable can you be and still remain strong? I’m reframing old techniques to tell a contemporary human story. I’m investigating a particular set of human emotions, attempting to give them a voice they didn’t necessarily have in the history of painting, particularly as they relate to women.”

Maria's work will be exhibited by Heist later this year. Discover more at heist-online.com.