Artists | MAKI Gallery | MAKI

Craig Kucia was born in Cleveland, OH, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. He received a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1999 and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Arts (London) in 2003. Kucia creates whimsically eclectic paintings that delve into the kaleidoscopic interplay of memory and imagination. While the works evince the artist’s extensive understanding of art history by integrating references to various movements such as Surrealism, Pattern & Decoration, and Cubism, they simultaneously possess a robust resolve rooted in his working-class upbringing. Although certain motifs like whales or cacti make recurring appearances, Kucia experiments with a wide variety of animate and inanimate subjects, switching constantly between flat, graphic forms and richly textured materiality. His eccentric imagery and dramatic compositions invite viewers to embark on a psychological journey, inspiring them to invent their own narratives and interpretations.
The artist’s recent solo exhibitions include machines to solve unsolvable problems, SHRINE (New York, 2023); the night I told my story to the sky, The Pit (Palm Springs, 2023); windows, Taymour Grahne Projects (London, 2022); act(ive) enclosure, MAKI Gallery (Tokyo, 2021); and a toucan, L21 (Islas Baleares, 2021). His work has also been included in numerous group shows across the United States.