DEBRA KRUSE
Florence Nightingale Was A Cannibal, acrylic and latex on panel, 48" x 42", 2005

An Iowa native, Kruse lived and worked in Rhode Island from 1990 until recently. "A lateral arabesque has brought me back to my kinfolk and the dense black soil of my formative years where I now live and paint. Painting is work," she writes.
Her work, often large and visually complex, suggests, informs and explores, often as a visual form of poetry. The title of her show at the Iowa Artisans Gallery, "Coldframe," refers metaphorically to the frame used by gardeners to harden off plants before transplanting to outdoor conditions.

Kruse was awarded a Rhode Island State Council for the Arts Fellowship in 2006 and participated in a number of faculty shows at the Rhode Island School of Design. She also had a solo exhibition at Gallery Agniel in Providence and participated in numerous group shows in the northeastern United States. She received an MFA in visual design and painting at the University of Massachusetts in 1999.

Debra Kruse's website

text and image from Iowa Artisans Gallery