Bio

Inspired by the intricate beauty of the natural world, artist Kristen Marco paints delicately layered, visually arresting works that conjure the quiet depths of the past and suggest the hidden promise of the present. She has developed a distinctive style over the course of her career, drawing influence from the balanced complexity of the Dutch Masters and the dancing light of the French Impressionists. Known for her supremely crafted oil paintings, she paints with an intuitive focus, rendering everything from charming childhood moments to nature’s subtlest contrast in Baroque, lifelike detail.

Driven by a passion for discovery, Kristen grew up sketching, photographing, and painting subjects that inspired her. Influenced by the iconic European works of art during her college studies abroad in Florence, Italy, she focused her imagination on creating timeless scenes of children at play, women in turn-of-the-century gowns, and fruit and floral still life’s. She was discovered by an International Japanese art gallery in Beverly Hills. She then did her first exhibition in Tokyo in 1998 and continued to do multiple shows over the next several years. She hung her art in their Rodeo Drive gallery where she was one of their featured artists. She also developed a series of licensed products, from collector plates to puzzles, featuring oil paintings of children. Whimsical and iconic, Kristen’s children paintings evoke the cheerful spirit of a simpler time, rendered in vibrant hues and gently curving lines that put her on the map as an artist.

Working on commissions eventually led Kristen back to exploring landscapes and architectural gardens, which inspired her to start mixing her masterful florals and Italian landscapes into singular works of art. Blending elements of several classical styles, these new paintings feature her characteristic hyper-realistic flowers set against traditional Tuscan landscapes, old murals, antique tapestries, and sweeping pastoral backdrops with the grandeur and richness of the Dutch Masters — all rendered in mainly a palate of black, white and warm grey. Unlike the vibrant colors of her children paintings, Kristen’s new work offers a nod to her early love for black and white photography: There’s a hint of the modern mixed in with the ancient. “I love blending the past and the present, puzzle-piecing the disparate elements together to form a cohesive scene,” she says. “It feels nostalgic but forward-looking, too–as if I’m merging all my favorite things onto the canvas.” – 2025

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Through the richness of her thick oils, dreamy compositions and stylized brushstroke, the canvases of Contemporary artists Kristen Marco masterfully translate into a colorful journey of enchantment and serenity. 

A stroll through the works of this artist gives us a sense of familiarity,a place where memories can be lost – and found. The imagery welcomes us with an open invitation to explore the joy and simplicity of daily life found in days gone by, while her strong sense of fashion and style keeps us well grounded in the present.

Born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Kristen first discovered her love for art in High School. The Validation of several awards gave her the confidence to pursue her artistic endeavors even more passionately as she headed for college. Through University program, she was selected to study Art History in Florence Italy, where she often traveled to Paris to immerse herself in the wealth of the great French Impressionists – particularly Renoir, Monet and Degas. These Masters would prove to be the foremost mentors of this self-taught artist.

Kristen’s approach to whites and shadows are an intricate part of this unique style. Although literal and true, she enhances them with a multitude of colors- carefully mixed to create tones and hues that remain true to the eye. This technique combined with her attention to detail has lead people to view her work as Impressionistic Realism.

The artist’s passion for exquisite fabrics, elaborate gowns and unique props of yesteryear has lead her to flea markets, vintage clothing stores and movie studio costume houses. Like an eccentric film Director, she meticulously creates each scene, selling up every little detail with passion and vision.

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