Johann Kralewski lives and works in Islisberg and Locarno.
He was born in Laurahütte Siemianowice in 1949 and spent his childhood and youth in the Silesian mining region and in the Beskydy mountain ranges in Poland. From 1981 to 2009 he lived in Germany, then in Switzerland.
After training as a chemical engineer, he studied metallurgy, which he completed in 1977. While still a student, he completed an apprenticeship as a photographer and began his artistic career in 1974 by participating in various photo exhibitions. From 1981 until his retirement he worked as a graduate engineer in industry. The work is characterized by a high level of creativity with new technical developments and numerous patent applications. At the same time, he creates his first watercolor portraits, oil paintings and drawings. From 1999 he reduced his activities in industry in favor of intensifying his artistic work. From 2001 to 2003 he completed part-time studies at the Institute for Fine Arts at the Philipps University in Marburg with Prof. Eckhard Kremers with a focus on screen printing, lithography, drawing and project development. At the same time, in his work he deals with the anti-intellectual art of Jean Dubuffet and his interpretation of Art Brut as well as with the emotionally charged dramatic painting of Francis Bacon.
In the graphic work, one-second drawings appear again and again, which arise entirely from the unconscious. This way of working characterizes the creation with all applied techniques to this day; the works are always created by picking up on a deep, intuitive design impulse. The spontaneous choice of technique is an important conceptual tool. The theme determines form and material. This is the only way for the artist to shape the intensity of what he has experienced. What inspires him to work intuitively is the simultaneous creation of different works of art using different techniques. For example, during the one and a half year long concentrated process of making the pilgrims, he deepened his relationship to drawing, which is an essential form of expression for him.
