Francien Krieg - A soft disappearance

To the future owner:

The painting is built on a red underlying layer, which at various spots remains visible through the skin and the water. Especially around the body and in the blue areas, small warm traces are visible. The paint there is applied in thin, soft layers. The light sky is painted thicker and has a more defined surface, creating a contrast between the open, calm water and the more tangible space above.

Preferably hang the work in a place with soft light that falls somewhat from the side. Then both the red underlayer and the differences in paint thickness are most visible. In cool daylight the water gains more emphasis; warmer light brings forward the skin and the pink and red tones. Avoid direct sunlight.

I began painting the boy with his eyes closed, as if he were asleep. During the painting I slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was at first serious and absent, but gradually became softer and more approachable—as if he was cautiously returning from his own world.

Perhaps the work is not only about disappearance, but also about slowly becoming present again. I hope that in his gaze there remains room to recognize something of yourself, and that at his new place he preserves some of his silence.

Francien Krieg is a Dutch figurative painter who examines the human body as a bearer of time, vulnerability, beauty, and discomfort. Her work has been shown in recent years at Galerie Mokum in Amsterdam, several galleries in New York and elsewhere in the United States, and Beinart Gallery in Australia. Her paintings are part of major private and international art collections.

In 2026 she participates in Five and Under at Arcadia Contemporary in New York, begins a collaboration with Galerie François-Xavier Bertrand in Bordeaux, and is nominated for Artist of the Year 2027. Earlier highlights include her book Precious Bodies from 2018, nominations for Figurativas in 2017 and 2021, the win at the BoldBrush Painting Competition in 2020, and the second prize at Painting of the Year in 2023.

Krieg continually renews her visual language and working method. In addition to her painting, she was among the artists who early on experimented with NFTs and later with AI as part of the artistic process. The hand-painted image and the human presence remain the starting point.

In her recent paintings of boys, Francien Krieg focuses on the vulnerable moment between childhood and adulthood. The bodies are still exploratory: lanky, awkward, sometimes resting or carrying each other. In doing so, she explores masculinity before it has settled into strength, control, and pose.