Contemporary artist Ai-Wen Wu Kratz is a naturalized US citizen, originally from Hong Kong. She received a BFA in Painting and Mathematics from Fort Wright College in Spokane, WA. and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. She is an alumna of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and of the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. In addition to the United States, Kratz has had solo exhibitions in France, Germany, England, Egypt and Austria. Her works are in collections in Canada, Germany, Bangladesh, Argentina and the U.S., including the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis, MO.
Her works are visual symphonies, composed similarly to the way in which a composer creates music, with equal focus and value on each visual element as an integral part of the whole. Using acrylic paints on canvas, the artist meticulously applies lines, colors, forms, shapes, and movements to create her abstract pieces. Her work is concerned with the spiritual, intellectual, and the aesthetic. She hopes her works bring joy, light, and relief to her viewers.
