A Touch of Grace
AMG: You’re an innovator of your own technique. Your resin work is so contemporary, yet timeless. It almost looks like porcelain. How did you get started as an artist?
Kristina Grace: My interest in art started at an early age. My parents were collectors of contemporary art and took us to museums and exposed us to different artists during the 1970’s. As a teenager, I did ceramics and metal sculptures in school. I then went on to college to begin a major in Art. Halfway through college, my father convinced me that I wouldn’t make any money as an artist, so I switched my major to Business Economics. I then had a short stint on Wall Street in the 1980’s, and went on to marry and begin raising a family with 3 children. But I was always creating… whether it be painting, needlepointing, baking, etc, there was always a thought in my head that I had to get out with my hands. I am innately both a creator and a nurturer.
After I left my marriage 16 years ago I went back to school to pursue my passion of creative arts. I took sculpture classes and exposed myself to a variety of different mediums. Always searching to find my voice by experimenting with my hands. One day I was exposed to a work where resin was used and my mind clicked towards that direction.
Resin doesn’t operate like paint. And the typical application of it is used as a smooth covering where excess material is brushed off the surface of the substrate. I began to experiment with the recirculation of the material. Applying layer after layer as the epoxy begins to change its viscosity through chemical reaction. As the material moves towards hardening it thickens and becomes warm, then hot to the touch. I take objects that are known and deconstruct the surface of them. Always circling my work when it's in process and reapplying the resin until it reaches the point of “quickening”.
It’s a messy and physical job. I’m constantly throwing away old mechanic suits and shoes that become covered in the material and crack overtime. A respirator and gloves are worn every time as well.
AMG: Some of your most iconic works are the Skulls, and your pieces with butterflies - can you tell us more about them?
KG: Ideas are constantly coming into my mind. Everything is interconnected..and I find that the interesting point that I sometimes don’t see until I pause to reflect. People, places, religion, sin, guilt, forgiveness, family, love - these things are all reflected in my work. They’re really just the age old questions that man has been asking of himself over the millennia. Or at least that’s how I view it.
The butterflies began when I was going through a particularly difficult personal time. I wasn’t sure of the choices that I had made in my life and somehow this came to light. The Butterfly, as you know, is admired for its beauty and ability to take flight. But even more importantly are its origins as a caterpillar. One thing completely metamorphosing into another. And then there is the religious significance of the soul which is also attributed to the butterfly. I do pieces that are all butterflies, and others where they adorn a specific work.
Often covering them in gold leaf. The skulls come from my reflections about our corporal existence in life. What’s more illustrative of that than our heads which cradle our thoughts? They are whimsical and I get to have fun with them. “Queen for a Day, “King of the Hill”. Who doesn’t know a man or a woman ( or maybe themself) that they can’t attribute this to?
AMG: What about the Money Skull?
KG: You mean “Two Dollar Bill ''... that's his name. Many men see themselves through monetary lenses. That’s a pretty standard measuring stick in the world. So “Two Dollar Bill” is about a man and his money..all wrapped up in it. And then of course we have so many avenues that can be gone down on this subject like fiat vs crypto, billionaire class, the demonization and adulation of money... a lot of discourse surrounds this piece and subject.
I wanted to put a crown on Bill, but wasn’t sure what would work. Should I create a crown of laurels like Caesar wore that would connote power? Or would a crown of thorns like Christ wore depicting persecution be more suitable? Ultimately I chose Caesars headpiece and taught myself how to do Origami to create it.
AMG: There are also a lot of surf & California aesthetics in your work - what’s the story there?
KG: I live on the sand and in the surf community of Newport Beach. My boys and their friends surf and there are boards strewn across the house and in the garage; it’s our culture and community. I began working with a material about 14 years ago called precision board. It’s a super dense foam that is used in the construction industry for crown molding and other applications. So I began carving out shapes with a sawzal and getting into the details of shaping with metal files and sandpaper.
I had a neighbor who was a “shaper” (someone who makes surfboards) and asked him to teach me the technique of “glassing” which is applying resin to surfboards. The first work that I did out of the series was a 4’ peace sign that I covered in thousands of strips of colored paper and then fiberglassed it and covered it in epoxy resin. I still have that peace sign hanging in my family room today.
As for the surf pieces, one of my sons was on the Harbor High Surf team, and I went to a set up for a team dinner and one of the moms had brought these plastic surfers, like army men that we played with as kids. I was immediately entranced and knew that I had to do something with them. Again, one thing always leads to another. So I carved the shape of the state of California out of the precision board and covered it with stencil designs of waves and little surfer guys… finally applying a layer of resin over the top. These pieces represent family, both mine and others. This resonates with a lot of collectors... they surf, their sons or daughters surf, they live in a surf community - it’s joyful work.
AMG: Any hidden messages in your work?
KG: I’m not sure if it’s so hidden. My work is akin to my salvation. As I mentioned, I put my head down and focused on creating when life was shifting in new directions. It was , and is, a way to reconcile the past with a focus towards the future. My “Garden of Eden” series began with a look at the questions of sin, redemption, and forgiveness.
One of the earlier pieces in this series was titled “Original Sin”. In this work I created a snake made out of ceramic and placed it amongst a sea of flowers and one Apple with a bite out of it. Of course this was Eve's bite which was the original sin that cast man out of the garden and into the world as we now know it.