Aaron Kraten

Visual Cool

By: Nathan Lee

Hip, fresh, and edgy are words that best describe the work of California artist Aaron Kraten; A visual artist whose versatility shines through as both a fine artist and as a commercial artist.

 

Drawing on the influences of graffiti, skateboard culture, video games and fashion, Kraten makes paintings and illustrations that convey a sense of cool. Having appeared in various magazines, Kraten's work has become more visible and shows that he is making the right moves as a visual artist to succeed in the are world.  

 

One should note that he is doing so without compromising his craft or vision. Many times artists conform for the sake of elevating themselves financially. It seems Kraten, who is quite youthful by artists standards (33 years old), has the understanding that an artist must make his work, stand on his talent and let the people who view his work decide. He finds avenues for his work without diluting the vision of it.

 

Having shown in both galleries and worked in the commercial realm of art, I found it interesting that he is more at home in the gallery setting.

 

"I am more comfortable with the gallery environment." He says. "It seems there is more freedom there.

 

Each one of Aaron Kraten's offerings is individual in nature and they give off their own life. In his painting "Dance", Kraten's female subject shows the influences of fashion and while incredibly hip, she also seems incredibly down to earth.

 

His style while not derivative in anyway, reminds me of two of my favorite artists, the Hernandez Brothers of "Love and Rockets" graphic novel fame. His work seems to have comic influences swimming in the mix as well. In his painting "Dance", Kraten uses a fiery red headed protagonist with all the attitude of a runway diva. She totes a small trendy purse as she walks confidently. One gets the idea that she could hold her own outside of the prissy world of make up artists and shamelessly thin models. She seems to have depth and an edge to go along with that.

 

Deviating from the fashion influence of his work, Kraten shows his graffiti influences in his painting Cosmonaut. He presents his space traveling subject in bold colors and thick lines all with the skillfully controlled recklessness of a seasoned graf artist.

 

Aaron Kraten is an artist who has honed his creative talent but, he is far from content to sit and revel in his accomplishments.

 

"My goal is to always challenge myself to do incredible work and live off of my art." says Kraten.