Maria Kreyn is an American artist renowned for her evocative oil paintings that blend masterful figuration with abstract geometries and elemental atmospherics. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

Born in 1987 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Kreyn grew up in America and only came to painting when she was 20. She first pursued studies in mathematics and philosophy at the University of Chicago in 2008. As she grew frustrated and bored with the academic environment, she moved to Norway to apprentice with a painter. Later, she followed her mentor to Iceland, where she lived and worked in the former public library in Reykjavik.

By the age of 24, she returned to the US with a renewed perspective. She begun creating highly realistic oil paintings that explore human relationships and capture intimate moments of passion and isolation with a distinctly modern sensibility. Kreyn's background in highly refined figurative paintings lends a strong foundation of drawing and representational rendering that permeates and enhances her recent work's abstract marks.

Kreyn's work is deeply rooted in the Western painting tradition, drawing inspiration from Old Masters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Her paintings often explore themes of nature, the human

body, and the materiality of time, creating hybrid compositions that merge formalism with Romantic sensibilities. Her education in mathematics and philosophy, and her interest in neuroscience and mythology, lead Kreyn to atypical connections between disparate fields.

Her distinctive style has garnered attention in prominent publications such as Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, The Art Newspaper, and The Financial Times.

Among her notable projects is "The Shakespeare Cycle", a series of eight monumental paintings commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 2021, now permanently displayed in the lobby of London's historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Her painting "Alone Together" gained widespread

recognition after being featured in Shonda Rhimes' ABC television show "The Catch," and her works have also appeared in the award-winning series "The Crown."

In 2024, Kreyn was featured in a landmark solo exhibition titled "Chronos" during the 60th  Venice Biennale, held at St. George’s Anglican Church in Venice. Ten monumental “Storm” paintings, the same series as the painting we are offering, transformed the historic space into something timeless, creating a powerful dialogue between art, time, and place.

Also in 2024, her work appeared at auction for the first time. On November 11, a large painting titled “Gravity” (178 x 229 cm) from the “Storm” series achieved a spectacular result at Sotheby’s

Hong Kong, selling for GBP 407,759 (including buyer’s premium)—a price 172% above its high estimate of GBP 149,911.

Kreyn’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the U.S. and Europe. Her agent is currently in discussions with multiple museums interested in showing her work in 2026, as well as with several prominent international galleries regarding future representation.

Selected Solo Shows:

·   2025

A solo show featuring several paintings form the “Storm” series is scheduled to open at the Fitzrovia Chapel in London on October 12 – Upcoming

·   2024

“Chronos”, Venice Biennale @ St George’s Anglican Church, curated by MoN Art Foundation, Venice, Italy

·   2023

“Untune A String”, The Hole (Tribeca), New York, UK

“Lensing A Storm”, MoN Art Foundation @ Secteur Privé, London, UK

·   2021

“Maria Krey: Recent Works”, Artist Series – Hillsdale College, MI, USA

“The Shakespeare Cycle”, Theater Royal Drury Lane – Permanent Installations consisting of eight paintings commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, London, UK

·   2018

“Polyphony”, Heist Gallery @ Welsh Chapel, London UK

“How To Become A Cloud”, Fabien Fryns Fine Art @ The Chapel, Marbella, Spain

·   2017

“May You Live In Interesting Times”, Booth Gallery, New York, USA

Selected Group Shows:

·   2025

“A Mysterious Vision”, Robilant + Voena Gallery, New York, USA – Ongoing (May 7 - June 17)

·   2024

“Whose Muse”, Palo Gallery, New York, USA

“Something Woman This Way Comes”, Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad, Switzerland

“Zona Maco Art Fair”, The Hole Gallery - Booth C102, Mexico City, Mexico

“Arcadia and Elsewhere”, James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA

·   2023

“Femme F(r)ictions”, C1760/Colnaghi Gallery, New York, USA

·   2022

“Influences of Time”, C1760/Colnaghi Gallery, New York, USA

“Past Life Regression Portraits”, Fair Spring/Break, New York, USA

·   2019

“She Persists: 20 Female Voices of Rebellion, Celebration and Resilience”,  Venice Biennale @ Palazzo Benzon – Heist Gallery, Venice, Italy

·   2018

“Summer of Love”, Freight + Volume Gallery, New York, USA

·   2017

“Figurative Futures”, 101/Exhibit Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

“Palette”, Abend Gallery, Denver, USA

“Et Arcadia In Ego”, California Lutheran University, CA, USA

“Psychological Realism”, Booth Gallery, New York, USA

“Bombay Beach Biennale”, Art Fair, Bombay Beach, USA

The “Orchid” painting we are offering is part of Maria Kreyn’s latest body of work, the “Storm” series. In this series, Kreyn departs from her established figurative tradition, deliberately omitting the human figure, not as an absence but as an invitation. By placing the landscape at the center, she evokes the sublime, where the beauty of nature merges with its vast and often unsettling power. What distinguishes these landscapes is Kreyn’s nuanced manipulation of geometric space, a technique that introduces a kind of phenomenological codex.

Deeply influenced by the Romantic tradition and Orphic mythology, these paintings are filled with luminous vortexes where geometric forms collide with atmospheric elements, evoking the cosmic cycles of creation, dissolution, and regeneration. These works not only demonstrate Kreyn’s mastery in blending figuration with abstract geometry but also reflect on the broader existential challenges posed by the climate change and the fragility of the human experience.

The series draws direct lineage from her earlier painting “The Tempest”, commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber as part of her eight-painting “Shakespeare Cycle”, now on permanent display in the lobby of the historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.