About the artist:

Born in Graz, Austria, in 1949, Krajnc began to study art at the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS in Vienna, in 1968, continued his studies at ACCADEMIA RAFFAELLO in Urbino, Italy and was awarded his M.A. diploma by Prof. Melcher in Vienna, in 1972. A year later, he established a home in New York, after his first successful One Man Show there. Work-intensive years followed. KRAJNC created fascinating ORIGINAL COLOR LITHOGRAPHS in strictly limited editions, in his signature translucent colors. He drew these separately on up to fourteen different plates, printed them in his own studio - sometimes on his own handmade paper - to assure the fine nuances and technical perfection, for which he would become famous. In the Eighties, KRAJNC turned towards OILS ON CANVAS. He painted everywhere: in his studio on Long Island, N.Y., in Europe, where he spent his summers - finding visual inspiration in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, England and Scotland - and around the globe, travelling from Egypt all the way to China. He carried rolls of canvas with him, stretched it where and when he needed it, and lots of small sheets of handmade paper for DRAWINGS and WATERCOLORS. In 1990, KRAJNC moved his workbase to Arizona, where he designed and built a new studio cum hangar in an Airpark with private landing-strip, in the wide open cactus desert on the outskirts of Tucson. His palette has changed under the influence of the strong light, his colors reflect it, too. His works increased in size. One thing remains unchanged, however: KRAJNC continues to disregard trends and shortlived fashions in the art world. He remains true to his personal vision. Succes proves him right. MEZZOTINTS, the ultimate form of printmaking, have become his new means of graphic expression. Starting in the summer of 1993, and working for four consecutive summers, KRAJNC revitalised the CHAPEL in a XII-XVIth century castle in Upper Austria. The artist's total concept, its design and execution - completed in August of 1997 - includes FRESCOES on ceiling and walls, an ALTARSTONE made of carved Admont marble, sculpted and fired LIGHT FIXTURES, a STONE FLOOR (showing a subtle labyrinth, visible from above) and aWROUGHT IRON DOOR (our opening image on the web site), with a special lock and key, created in cooperation with Kunstschmied Wolfgang Auer of Upper Austria, Krajnc taking credit for the delicately forged leaves, birds and hearts, around a stylized tree of life, echoing the design on the frescoed altar wall- to which it visually leads. KRAJNC also designed the ORGAN, which was built by Hubertus Graf Kerssenbrock in Grünwald, Germany, and carved the organ's decorative housing out of lime wood, bought in Phoenix, AZ. This ECUMENICAL BAPTISM CHAPEL, the only one of its kind in the world, has been hailed by Austrian TV and newspapers as a rare masterpiece, noting the artist's uncommon ability to execute almost every detail himself. The newest venture: BRONZE SCULPTURES. Works in clay and porcelain keep reappearing throughout Krajnc' career, but never before has he endeavoured to create the large panels he is doing now, and the bronze versions he is currently creating. Whatever the medium, KRAJNC' style, his handwriting, is unique: he blends illusion and reality, architecture and nature, often depicting himself symbolically as the link between what is and what seems. Critics have praised his work as "exquisite, subtle and brilliant". It has brought him admirers throughout the world and many international awards and prizes. (Some museums that have a KRAJNC in their collections: Albertina, Vienna; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Chicago Art Institute; Tokyo Print Art Museum).