2014 Catalogue Archive

German-based American artist James Krone wanted a pet lobster for his aquarium once, but, upon realizing that his unreliable electricity company would cause the lobster to die, he ended up keeping just water as a pet instead. With time, algae began accruing in the water, which, as a result, inspired the painting process in his Waterhome series. In Waterhome Screen (AV), the canvas is sized with several layers of rabbit skin glue on which Krone paints a single wash of pigment each day. The colors used are based on the colors produced in the aquarium: viridian, sap green, alizarin crimson, and lemon yellow. The accretion of paint ultimately negates the color which causes the canvas to build towards an ostensible black. Krone then unstretches the canvas and reverses it, revealing the faltered support that caused the paint to bleed through. The final painting is elegant and simple, yet rich with information. Krone has participated in several exhibitions and events in Europe and the United States, among them recent solo and group shows at Kavi Gupta, Berlin; The Hole, New York; Galerie Charim, Vienna; Carter & Citizen, Los Angeles; and Infernoesque, Berlin. Krone’s work has been published and reviewed in many influential magazines, such as Artforum, ArtUs, Artslant, and Monopol.