Stephen Kroninger | Arts + Literature Laboratory | Madison Contemporary Arts Center

Stephen Kroninger

Stephen Kroninger grew up the son and employee of a trash collector in Orefield, PA. In 1978 he moved to New York City to begin his professional life as an illustrator. At the time, the city was in the midst of financial crisis and housing in the East Village was still affordable for a young artist, providing the perfect incubator for emerging artists. The lower East side was exploding with a dazzling mixture of venues for new and experimental art forms. Galleries opened faster than they closed. Exhibitions and performances were held in abandoned storefronts punctuated by an array of new-wave, punk, hip-hop, and free-jazz clubs, where, by no coincidence, Kroninger first exhibited his collage art. Music had long served to inform his art, created in response to the visceral rhythms and broad brash sounds of the city. Composers such as Grandmaster Flash informed Kroninger’s conceptualization and visualization. He frequented clubs experiencing the spontaneous mixes of artists such as Afrika Islam, DJ Jazzy Jay of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and the free-jazz piano of Cecil Taylor.

The Wall Street Journal credits Stephen Kroninger with having “sowed the seeds of the collage renaissance.” His traditional—cut with scissors—and digital illustrations have appeared in nearly every major newspaper and magazine in the United States, as well as around the world.

In 1992, Kroninger was honored with a solo exhibition of his collage art at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His art can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the United States Library of Congress, and the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute. He is author and illustrator of three award-winning children’s books and has been recognized and awarded for his work in film animation. He has received numerous awards from American Illustration, Communication Arts, the Society of Newspaper Design, the Society of Publication Design, and recently received a gold medal and the Stevan Dohanas Award from the Society of Illustrators.

He is currently teaching at the Parson’s School of Art and is active in the New York City metropolitan area giving workshops in the art of collage.
Stephen currently lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.

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