Bio / CV

Kristen Margiotta is a Delaware based contemporary oil painter whose passion for art is pervasive throughout her lifestyle. For over eighteen years, she has been exhibiting and selling her work, illustrating books, and actively participating in her local art community. She has been an instructor of art since that time, instructing at a variety of locations including at the college level.

Margiotta has transitioned from her “big eyed” gallery paintings and illustration work that she has built her career on, and returned to her roots of a more traditional, realistic and narrative oil painting style.  She’s also returned to portrait painting, working directly from live models using the direct method of "alla prima" oil painting.  Her return to realism is a reflection of events that unfolded in her personal life and her desire to explore the complexities of the world and beyond. 

Strength, raw human emotion, and the color red pervade her work whether telling a story using people, often herself or close friends as models, elements of nature, or mythological figures. Her work is a tribute to art history and the human spirit, telling stories that withstand the test of time by shedding a new light on them in the modern day. Art is reflection of life and she paints what comes from her heart. She hopes people will connect to her work and that her work in some way can help them to heal. Margiotta's viewers are often quoted as saying they can feel the drama unfolding in the painting, like a movie in motion.

Her oil paintings are found in the homes of private collectors across the country, ranging from collectors of animation and cartoon art, to dark art, pop surrealism, and realism. Her most recent exhibitions include Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, WowXWow online art gallery,  and The Convent, Philly, PA.

Margiotta lives and works from her art studio in Newark, Delaware, as well as instructs private art lessons to various students of all ages. 

“No one does RED like her ”- Scott Kirschner, painter, Arch Enemy Arts.

“Wonderfully painted, big-eyed, and dark ”- Ray Nichols, owner Lead Graffiti (Letterpress Studio).

“This was the most ambitious Delaware Fun-A-Day project I have seen completed  ”. - Monika Bullette, co-founder Delaware Fun-A-Day.

“ Kristen's children's book illustration style is completely unique. Cute, creepy, and full of minute detail, displaying Kristen's mastery of subtle light and shadow. When you see one of her originals, you know it's unmistakably hers.

Her fine art easel paintings are bold, predominantly red and black, and full of emotion brought forth with confident, succulent brushwork not unlike the bravura of the great John Singer Sargent. Kristen’s forte is portraiture and she captures the true spirit of her sitters along with their accurateΩΩ likenesses. There’s an “old master” quality to these pieces, a chiaroscuro which demonstrates a knowledge of art history and a maturity in skill usually found in older artists.” - Mark Collins, Illustrator, Children's Book Author.

Statement:

Fire, dripping pearl tears, and white lilies whose potent fragrance is often experienced at funerals, are abound in my work. I am at a pivotal moment in my career, a new beginning, a new cycle of art that is a reflection of my growth first as a person, and as an artist. My recent body of narrative work centers around the human figure and nature to uncover and reveal personal truth. Influence from art history, symbolism, and figures from mythology and religious imagery, are packaged up all in one and given a new, fresh voice, to learn, and grow from. This work is a departure from my “big eyed” fine artwork and book illustrations that spanned my 17+ year career.

My recent work is about transformation of oneself, and cycles that end so that new can begin, a complete departure from my previous body of work. How we can move beyond limitations and hardships and transform them into something beautiful that unlocks our inner fire. Being the daughter of an Italian immigrant, with two parents who demonstrated hard work, as well as my religious upbringing and interests have of course influenced my work both visually as well as my work ethic, and authenticity. 

My paintings, both indirect paintings and the quick “alla prima” works, are raw and emotive, and though they have a “dark” flare, they are alive and reflect what I think we are meant to be as human beings: powerful, determined, and with the ability to overcome. By discovering who we really are, we can transform ourselves, and move forward in a positive way in this lifetime, and hopefully help and uplift others in the process. My goal for my artwork to reach people, to touch them or connect with them, to bring joy, and help them heal.