Skip to main content

Dylan Solomon Kraus

Dylan Solomon Kraus is an American contemporary artist whose paintings explore rich color, symbolism, and enduring questions about the universe. His work features recurring motifs such as sequences, archetypes, and ancient systems of representation that have persisted across centuries, drawing inspiration from movements like Der Blaue Reiter as well as fables, folklore, and the occult. In Kraus’ compositions, flooded cities, crows, and fractured clocks appear like fragments from a recurring dream, inviting viewers to reflect on their place within societies that feel both idyllic and subtly post-human.

Kraus applies multiple layers of thick oil paint to his canvases, which he peels back, incises, and scrapes to reveal hidden colors and forms beneath the surface. Glyphs, symbols, and abstract characters punctuate his paintings like small scars, adding depth and narrative to each work. Despite the often enigmatic and mysterious atmospheres of his pieces, Kraus’ art conveys a quiet sense of calm. His celestial environments, sometimes presented in miniature formats, create moments of contemplative reverie and slow-motion reflection.

Born in 1987 in Ohio, Kraus earned a BFA from Cooper Union in New York. He currently lives and works between Berlin, Germany, and New York, continuing to develop a visual language that merges historical references, dreamlike imagery, and meticulous painterly technique.

  • Biography

    read or download
  • Bibliography

    read or download

Selected artworks

  • Dylan Solomon Kraus,                                      Clocktower, 2022

    Dylan Solomon Kraus Clocktower, 2022

    Oil on linen
    103 x 76 cm
    40 1/2 x 30 in
    Framed: 155.5 x 125 x 5cm

  • Dylan Solomon Kraus,                                      Kreuzberg, 2022

    Dylan Solomon Kraus Kreuzberg, 2022

    Oil on linen
    41 x 51 cm
    16 1/2 x 20 1/2 in
    Framed: 44 x 54 x 5cm

  • Dylan Solomon Kraus,                                      Milky Way over flooded city, 2022

    Dylan Solomon Kraus Milky Way over flooded city, 2022

    Oil on linen
    153 x 122 cm
    60 1/2 x 48 1/2 in
    Framed: 155.5 x 125 x 5cm

  • Dylan Solomon Kraus,                                      Corvus Cornix, 2022

    Dylan Solomon Kraus Corvus Cornix, 2022

    Oil on linen
    28 x 36 x 3 cm
    11 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/2 in
    Framed: 30.5 x 39 x 5cm

Gallery exhibitions