Ai-Wen Wu Kratz is originally from Hong Kong. She received a BFA in Painting and Mathematics from Fort Wright College in Spokane, WA and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. She is an alumna of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. She holds a diploma, “Breaking Into Print” from Institute For Writers, in Madison, CT. In addition to exhibits in the United States, Kratz had one-person exhibitions in France, Germany, England, Egypt and Austria. Her works can be found in private and public collections in Canada, Germany, Bangladesh, Argentina, and the U.S., including the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis, MO.

Kratz’s works are visual symphonies, created similarly to the way in which a composer creates music, with equal focus and value on each visual element as an integral part of the whole. Using acrylic paints on canvas, the artist meticulously applies lines, colors, forms, shapes, and movements to create her vibrant abstract pieces. Her work expresses elements of the spiritual, intellectual, and the aesthetic. Kratz hopes that her works bring joy and contentment to the viewer.