Jul 21

Pia Kintrup

Pia Kintrup is a photographer and installation artist who has exhibited across Europe and internationally in New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Canada. European countries Pia has exhibited in include Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece. Notable solo exhibitions include features at Gallery Ether in Tokyo, duel exhibitions at Arte Bogo Gallery in Venezia and Roma, Italy, and Galerie Ricarda Fox in Mülheim, Germany in which they published a critical essay in their catalogue. Another critical essay publication featuring her includes text by Nicola Schröder, Zürich, PhD. Pia has won awards with the Combat Prize and Musa International Art Space in Italy and an award of excellence by Art Next Expo in Hong Kong.

The art contains themes of melancholiness, isolation, and emptiness, not through the portrayal of figures, but rather through the creation of atmospheres and environments with vast portions of negative space, monochromatic aesthetics, and / or centralized compositions. Usually containing a misty, smoky, foggy, or cloudy ambience the photography and installations represent close-up studies of celestial, natural, or structural subject matter.

Sometimes mysterious or direct, Pia creates compositions which explore atmospheres of unfamiliar natural environments such as close up shots of strange foliage or configurations which resemble celestial caverns with a sense of sfumato. These poetic surfaces contain streaks and geometric or organic shapes usually dividing the plane into areas of negative dark space. Containing high contrast, low saturation, and over-exposure of photography, Pia conveys both abstracted and objective compositions which portray a perception of darkness and despair typically in the form of deep and harsh tones of black.

The Nonexistent Areas are of Particular Interest (pictured above) remains one of Pia’s most poetic pieces. Depicting monochromatic white foliage up close laid out on a flat surface such as a table, the photograph contains embellishment through a harsh and large circular light. The underbelly of the leaves becomes illuminated while the top exterior remains covered in consistent shadow. Portrayals of subtle neon turquoise colors streak on the bottom of the composition are the only break in the monochromatic surface. With a sense of poetic interpretation of form the viewer enters an atmosphere of crowded space which uses light, subtle color, and unusual foliage to convey notions of confrontation towards inner reflection.

Pia Kintrup explores human psychology through compositions of bold contrast and unfamiliar natural atmospheres. She intentionally offers more questions than answers making her a deeply philosophical artist. With a drive to provoke the viewer, Pia pushes compositional boundaries through mysterious and almost extraterrestrial surfaces and spaces of unrecognizable constructed theatrics. These installations and photographs challenge the viewer to traverse complex human emotions regarding our relationships with space, nature, and light. Pia Kintrup’s art can be described as a testament to the resilience of contemporary art as a method of exploring unknown elements of spatial intervals.