Katrin Fridriks
Born in Reykjavik in 1974, Katrin Fridriks is an abstract painter who has made the exploration of speed, gravity and the interaction of human beings with the forces of nature the main focus of her artistic expression.
Fridriks work focuses on the exploration of natural phenomena and the limits of human dexterity: experimenting with both techniques and the strength and agility of her own body, Katrin Fridriks continuously pushes the limits of painterly expression. In her signature style and technique, while immersed in sound, the artist transforms her movements into the creation of her energy-loaded, complex painting in nano-seconds. She is able to synthesize her artistic vision through a language made out of paint that is both gesture and word. A grammar of colors. A syntax of layers. Movement, gesture, color, words: all becomes one in the single, instantaneous act of throwing paint on her canvas. For more than two decades now, Katrin Fridriks has thus been experimenting with the constitutive elements of painting, the quality of the paint and its support, as well as a range of unconventional painting techniques, to attain her distinct style. It is the unique interplay between the medium, the timing and the artists? body moving around a canvas on the floor that encompasses the fluid and organic quality of her paintings.
The underlying principle of Fridrik?s artistic practice is, that she works in series ? which can be comprised of a color, of representational topics, aesthetic investigations or thematic concerns ? that in the end, all relate to each other.
Katrin Fridriks notoriety is mainly based on her paintings and installations, one of which is installed at the Olympic stadium in Nîmes. She also showcased in Venice in 2015 during the 56th Art Biennale and at the Reykjavik Art Museum, the Arts Center in Seoul in 2013 as well as the Liverpool Biennale in 2008. In 2017 - 2018, in association with Avant-Arte, Katrin Fridriks tackled an issue close to her heart through the edition project titled ?Waste? showcased in Berlin and developed with graphic designer Cedric Pierre, scientist Loftur Reimar and art critic and philosopher Klaus Speidel. In 2018 - 2019 she returned to London with J.D. Malat Gallery for her first solo show in 3 years where she pushed her boundaries one step even further, exploring the tight relationship between energy, forgotten physics, metaphysics, and the eternal connection to the stars with timeless structures scattered around the earth. Renewing her successful collaboration with graphic designer Cedric Pierre and for the first time collaborating with a writer and researcher, Sebastian Di Giovanni, Project Grey Area was born. An exhibition about what is there for everybody too see, and yet always remained obscure.
Katrin Fridriks has received commissions from Ralph Lauren, Land Rover, Pictures on Wall, Bacardi Martini and most recently Bentley to celebrate their 100th year with a very special and most artistic model. Soon to come.