Klara Kristalova Bio

                                        Klara Kristalova

Klara Kristalova was born in Prague, Czech Republic in 1967. She and her family moved to Sweden when she was still fairly young. She studied at the prestigious Kungliga Konsthogkolan in Stockholm, Sweden. She was part of the generation that acquired a higher artistic education in the early 80s and 90s, during which modernism was challenged by traditional and classical artists. Her work focuses on small narratives, dreams and nightmares of everyday life. Many of her inspiration comes from traditional myths, fairy tales and other literary sources. Kristalova’s uncanny sculptures portray adolescent boys and girls but usually made with exaggerated features or transforming into animals. She often uses the decorative techniques of 18th-century Meissen porcelain figurines but with her own twist. She manipulates the glazes so that it run and bleed into each other like a watercolor painting rather than a sculpture. Kristalova works in a very psychological manner to create a surreal micro-world that leaves the viewers to dwell on. Many of her works are roughly painted and shaped but during a 2012 interview, Kristalova stated, “Glazed ceramic was a despised material in my education . . . and for me that was good, because I was not into making important art. I wanted to do something different, and more playful, more close to myself." Her work has been exhibited in solo shows throughout North America and Europe. Kristalova sculpts, paints, glazes and kiln fires her work entirely by herself in her Swedish studio.

        Upon researching for my project, I found one of Kristalova’s work