Interview with artist Lisa Krannichfeld
Lisa Krannichfeld is a native of Little Rock. Her unique style of mixed-media imagery capturing the strong and independent woman has been featured in exhibitions and publications across the United States, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Most recently her work was chosen as the grand award winner in the 2018 60th Annual Delta Exhibition. In 2017 she won the Grand Award at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center Juried Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas, and Best in Show at the 2017 Magic City Art Connection Art Fair in Birmingham, Alabama. She has had work featured in numerous worldwide publications, was the face of Saatchi Art’s Spring 2019 “Refuse to be the Muse” campaign, and has had work featured in clothing and retail store, Anthropologie. Her work is included in several private and corporate collections in Arkansas and around the world.
Lisa is currently represented by M2 Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fort Works Art in Fort Worth, Texas, and Saatchi Art online. Her works can also be view at her website.
AAS: I first met you in 2018 when you gave a talk at the Arkansas Arts Center after winning the Grand Prize at the 60th Delta Exhibition. We will talk more about that later, but I remember you saying you taught school before becoming a full-time artist. Talk about your background. Are you originally from Arkansas?
LK: Yes, I was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas and am a product of the public school system here. I took my first drawing class at Parkview High School and discovered my love for art within those art classroom walls. I ventured out of Arkansas for a bit to attend college in Colorado where I majored in Studio Art and Biology. Art won me over, and I never did put that bio major to use. I moved back to Arkansas and began teaching art at the middle and high school level here in Little Rock, all the while still creating my own work nights, weekends, and summer breaks. I took the plunge to create art full-time about 4.5 years ago and haven't looked back since.
“The work began as a desire to balance how women are depicted in visual culture.”
AAS: Most of your works are images of strong women. Talk about that.
LK: The work began as a desire to balance how women are depicted in visual culture. When I began this work, women were generally either portrayed as pretty and poised or hypersexualized; which I feel greatly influences how society places value in women. However, I have seen great strides towards progress in the last 5 years and I like to think that my work is part of a collective shift towards even more progress. There has been a great response to my work which shows that people have a desire to see women portrayed the way I paint them, which of course makes me very happy.
AAS: Your series, Girls and Guise, portrays strong independent women but with out eyes. Why?
LK: I wanted the focus of the series to be on the expressive body language of the figures instead of a specific identity of a specific person. I also find it fulfilling to have my work connect with a variety of people and I think I achieve that better when there is not a face present that looks like a particular person. This way, people can see anyone and perhaps even themselves in the faceless pieces.
AAS: The hands are often very expressive and detailed. How important are they to the story of the woman in the painting?
LK: I think back when I was in high school someone once told me that hands and figures were the hardest things to draw, so naturally, I dived in headfirst to learn how to master them. Since then they have become my favorite things to draw. Particularly in my Girls and Guise series, the face is not visible so I use the hands to get across the expressive qualities that might normally be visible in a facial expression. Whenever I can include more expression through the positioning of the hands in a piece, I will.
AAS: Your sense of style is front and center in your works. Have you ever wanted to be a fashion designer?
LK: Funny, you ask that. There was a short time of about 30 seconds when I was in high school that I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer. I even went to a summer fashion workshop at the Art Institute of Dallas. But it turns out I'm all thumbs when it comes to sewing. I barely got through making the handbag project during that summer workshop. It seems I was meant to create interesting clothing in paintings instead.
AAS: Love the cat, which appears in many of your interior scapes. Strong and independent cat too. Talk about that.
Undomesticated Interior #2 (32” x 47”) featuring Juno,
LK: I was first inspired to include animals in my paintings by my now passed German Shepherd, Juno. She would always lay by my side in the studio when I painted, and she was such a muse. I wanted to use domesticated animals but paint them in a way where their untamed wildness showed through in their facial expressions and body language as a metaphor for women. I think women have to sacrifice so much for the sake of domestication and the animals in my paintings are a rebellion to that. German Shepherds were first and then I started using my cat in some paintings as well. I would use their poses but change their coloring to make them into various cats and dogs.
AAS: The ink technique you use is beautifully fluid and almost feminine, which is contrasted by the strong and sharp-patterned paper. Was there a particular inspiration for these contrasting symbolisms in your scenes?
“I find it such a challenge and an adventure to figure out how to combine all my loves into a piece that ends up looking cohesive in the end.”
LK: The main reason I have the contrasting textures is just that I love a lot of different aspects of different materials, a case of art ADD if you will. I find it such a challenge and an adventure to figure out how to combine all my loves into a piece that ends up looking cohesive in the end. However, I also feel that it is a great metaphor for women, and even more generally humanity. There is nothing more tragic than a person feeling they must fit themselves into a mold that just doesn't fit. Therefore, I like to compose my figures of all kinds of materials that you think would not go together but create such visual interest when they are put together.
I start with ink and watercolor always painted in a loose wet-on-wet style using a lot of water. This sets the foundation for every piece. After those areas dry I will then add it acrylic paint and collage. The final step is pouring the resin finish.
AAS: You have been in many solo and group exhibitions around Arkansas, the US, and even around the world – Australia, England. How does that happen? Does one exhibition lead to other exhibitions and shows through word of mouth or press?
LK: I would definitely say that one opportunity leads to another. The more eyes you can get on your work the better in both in real life and online. However, I think being genuine in your work and being able to comfortably talk about it with viewers and collectors is important. Most of my showings now are via art fairs and I find them really rewarding because I get to be face to face with people to make connections, explain my work, and answer questions.
AAS: Do you have your studio in your home? Talk about the difficulties of balancing an art career and family.
Lisa in her home studio.
LK: Up until January of this year I did have a home studio that I worked in. I moved into a new studio space this year because of the desire to make bigger work and the fact that I had a baby last December and I no longer have free reign over every space in the house. It's nice to have more space and to be able to separate home and work a bit more. Now that I have a 5-month-old to take care of my art practice has definitely changed. I have 2-hour windows in between naps and feeding times that I have become quite efficient at using. Being a mother and an artist has its challenges for sure and I'm still navigating on how to conquer them.
AAS: You were recently recognized by Saatchi Art to be the cover of the “Refuse to be the Muse” 2019 special edition catalogue. How did that come about? It must have been a wonderful honor to recognized in that way.
LK: I have had a great relationship with Saatchi Art for over 5 years now and was so proud to be a part of that campaign. It all aligned with Women's History Month and International Women's Day and I think the theme of my work just meshed really well with their goals to represent gender more equally in the art world. They are doing great things for artists, making our art more accessible and globally promoted.
AAS: Winning the 60th Annual Delta Exhibition Grand Prize in 2018 must have been a highlight of your career. What was that like?
LK: It was absolutely awesome! It meant so much more to me because I grew up less than 10 miles from the Arkansas Arts Center and the Delta Exhibition was always this item on a pedestal I wanted to reach. I would visit the show annually as a young kid. I have gotten in two times, the first winning a Delta Award, and the second winning the Grand Award. Both were great big checks on my career bucket list. The grand award-winning piece was actually purchased by the arts center and is now part of the permanent collection - another huge check on my bucket list.
New Skin , 60th Annual Delta Exhibition Grand Prize Award, 2018, 36” x 36”, Chinese ink / watercolor/ acrylic / cyanotypes / paper collage / resin
