Maria Kreyn
Born 1987, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, US
Maria Kreyn is an American artist known for evocative paintings that merge figuration, abstract geometries, and elemental atmospherics. She studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Chicago and is self-taught in painting. While drawing polymathic connections between disparate fields, Kreyn’s works are steeped in the western tradition of painting. She distills these references into a personal vocabulary of forms and geometries that result in hybrid compositions situated at the intersection of formalism and Romantic painting. Deriving her technical foundations from old master works, Kreyn reframes these techniques and expands their pictorial vocabulary into a realm of stirring emotional narratives, unique personal histories, and surreal fictions. Her expansive canvases are meditations on nature, the body, and the materiality of time.
Kreyn's work has been featured in Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, The Art Newspaper, The Financial Times, and many others. Kreyn was ranked #44 on Sotheby's Insight Report Top 50 Surrealists of All Periods by Value. Maria’s painting ‘Alone Together’ drives the plot of Shonda Rhimes’ ABC television show The Catch; and her Shakespeare Cycle paintings appear on the award-winning show The Crown. Her public works include a collection of 8 monumental paintings based on Shakespeare, commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, now on permanent display in the lobby of London’s historic Theater Royal Drury Lane.
EDUCATION
2008 University of Chicago, Mathematics and Philosophy, Chicago, US
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026 ‘Continuum,’ Robilant + Voena, Milan, Italy (Solo)
2025 ‘Dreams Across Borders,’ Miami Art Basel, Weinstein Gallery Booth J2, Miami, USA (Group)
2025 ‘The Long Now,’ Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (Group)
2025 ‘Hyperobject,’ The Fitzrovia Chapel, London, UK (Solo)
2025 ‘The Cloak of Dreams: A Survey of Painting and Sculpture in the Digital Age,’ SWCAC, Shenzhen, China (Group)
2025 ‘A Mysterious Vision,’ Robilant + Voena, New York City, USA / Milan, Italy (Group)
2024 ‘Chronos,’ Venice Biennale, St. George’s Anglican Church, Venice, Italy (Solo)
2024 ‘Who’s Muse,’ Palo Gallery, New York City, USA (Group)
2024 ‘Something Woman This Way Comes,’ Patricia Low, Gstaad, Switzerland (Group)
2024 Zona Maco, The Hole Gallery Booth C102, Mexico City, Mexico (Group)
2024 ‘Arcadia and Elsewhere,’ James Cohan, New York City, USA (Group)
2023 ‘Untune a String,’ The Hole, New York City, USA (Solo)
2023 ‘Lensing a Storm,’ Ministry of Nomads, London, UK (Solo)
2023 ‘Femme F(r)ictions,’ C1760 / Colnaghi Gallery, Academy Mansion, New York City, USA (Group)
2022 ‘Influences of Time,’ C1760 / Colnaghi Gallery, New York City, USA (Group)
2022 Spring/Break Art Show, New York City, USA, ‘Past Life Regression Portraits’ (Group)
2021 ‘The Shakespeare Cycle,’ Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London, UK (Permanent Public Installation)
2021 ‘Maria Kreyn: Recent Works,’ Hillsdale College of Art, Hillsdale, Michigan, USA (Solo)
2019 ‘She Persists: 20 Female Voices of Rebellion, Celebration, and Resilience,’ Venice Biennale, Palazzo Benzon, Heist Gallery, Venice, Italy (Group)
2018 ‘Polyphony,’ Heist Gallery, Welsh Chapel, London, UK (Solo)
2018 ‘Summer of Love,’ Freight and Volume Gallery, New York City, USA (Group)
2018 ‘How To Become A Cloud,’ Fabien Fryns Gallery, Marbella, Spain (Solo)
2017 ‘May You Live in Interesting Times,’ Booth Gallery, Chelsea, New York City, USA (Solo)