Kerstin Arnold in her studio It takes a special talent to transform items of the everyday into works of art that demand scrutiny and interest beyond the mere technical skill of execution or the physicality of their subject matter. Kerstin Arnold personifies this talent—her intimate still lifes convey the same closeness and personality as her portraits. Given exaggerated perspective and unusual angles, the viewer is brought up close to places never quite seen before. The freshness and vitality of her approach means that Arnold can convey something surprising in subjects that are seemingly mundane.

Though an autodidact, Arnold’s work draws on a large tradition of the painting of still lifes of food and drink. As with the Dutch masters, there is an implied luxury or abundance about the compositions. In the Old Masters, lustrous fruits and vegetables lie under hanging hares and bright-eyed fish. Many of Arnold’s objects are similarly suspended, their luminescence similarly emphasised. She uses oils because of the intensity and vivaciousness of the colors they produce and the subtle sheen and depth of their surface. She applies the paint in successive layers, building the compositions up gradually to achieve a natural finish. Arnold’s developed painting technique is a more modern hyperrealist one, echoing pop art styles and the modern aesthetic of Hopper and Hockney. Underpinning this precise style is her consummate draughtsmanship, the graphic quality of which heavily influences her painting style. She also trained as a technical draughtswoman and has worked with various companies. 

Arnold allows others to relate to her works with the same enjoyment as she gains from painting them. They convey an innate sense of beauty and employ a spare composition that relates intuitively to the viewer.

Kerstin Arnold lives and works in her native Germany, in Saarbruecken and has her own studio workshop. She has exhibited widely in Germany and continues to expand her practice

www.kerstin-arnold.com

www.arnoart.de

www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Kerstin_Arnold.aspx