Brian Kreydatus
Brian Kreydatus
Brian Kreydatus received his BFA from Syracuse University and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1995 he was awarded a Fulbright Grant to Dublin, Ireland and was a member of the Black Church Print Studio. He is a Professor at William & Mary where he has taught printmaking and life drawing since 2001.
Mr. Kreydatus’s primary source of imagery is the figure with an emphasis on the human condition. He has had Solo Exhibitions in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Chicago. Mr. Kreydatus has also participated in group shows in New York, Philadelphia, Ireland, France, Serbia, Canada, China, and Japan.
My prints deal with the figure and questions regarding the human condition. The human conditions basic tenets- the search for life’s meaning, inevitable loneliness, desire for gratification through food or intimacy, and the omnipresent knowledge of our own mortality are all themes in my work- sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly. These facts of the human experience have caused me to become obsessed with portraying the body’s physicality and vulnerability, which find their visual expression through a direct and purposefully unpolished mark. By recording my own specific experiences, I hope to create works that are universal.
Ennui
This image began as a single block woodcut image drawn directly from life. After an initial small edition printed in black on white paper, I began a series of monoprints exploring printing and mixed media.
Out of that experience, came the idea for this image. What was originally a curtain in back of the figure became a TV. I introduced a second block which allowed me to dramatize the value system with the TV providing a single light source.
Over the last two years as most of us spent much more time at home, the droning of the TV and its strange numbing power has become a constant. I wanted to emphasize this unease by using unnatural colors for the figure that are contrasting but strangely soothing.
The 14th of April: James drawing and dreaming
The 14th of April series is a record of family life during the first year of the pandemic and the ensuing isolation and anxiety. The title of the series was inspired by Gillian Welch’s song Ruination Day: Part 2 describing this date in US history that has witnessed Lincoln’s assignation and the sinking of the Titanic.
I decided to use this single day to give specificity to this time and record our typical activities. The bold simplicity of the relief along with its status as the oldest form of printmaking seem to be appropriate for this situation that is simultaneously new and timeless.
This handprinted image is of my son drawing at home, as a way to understand.
