INTRODUCTION

KC-K, Left, "International Flags", paints, canvas, metal pole, 26" x 36"           Summer 2017
(Shaped by the wind of the East River.  Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, New York)

The concept of earthwork art summons images of soil, wood, water, rock formations and other tangible materials.  ­The greater focus within m­y art experience is nature's process and the invisible forces at work on our planet.  Nature is my collaborator and as such, makes its every influence known.  I am an ecosystem artist developing each 2D and 3D painting in seasonal conditions of high heat and extreme cold, at various levels of humidity, to experience the power of natural elements in response to the materials I lay upon the canvas and elsewhere. 

Working paint like soil, my process is a physical investigation using paint.   I navigate and negotiate paint like a river; yet, I know its source.  I define my activated palette as "Speed Elements", and reflect deeply on the relationship between the act of painting and the art of nature.  By mixing paints and catalysts, paintings are set in motion to recreate the push-pull forces that shape and mold all visible things and respond to distinctive environmental influences as further inspiration toward the completion of each canvas.  I am an outburst of nature.  Nature doesn’t just influence me, it leads me on a journey.  As I cooperate with nature, she rewards me greatly.   As a partner, nature is generous and I inherit all that she has to offer.  Simply put, I ride nature's coat tails.  As a result, I create microscopic, as well as, satellite views of the earth and places scattered throughout the universe. and play with scale in terms of light years.

While working with this "activated" palette, there is a need to become more sensitive to things occurring around me.  I endeavor to strike a balance between my inner and outer self.  If I fail to maintain this equilibrium, I can become an intruder to my own painting and can potentially scare a paint experiment; much like what occurs with our planet when we find ourselves at odds with nature.

Choosing to ignore the actual relationship that exists between Nature and Art has lead to the crisis and challenges we currently face.
In  an age of "Virtual Reality" and "Fake News", I find it comforting to know that Nature offers facts and not opinions.

"Long Island and Connecticut", (30' x 40', mixed media paints on canvas)                                                                                                                         2001

.

Video documentation captures images that eluded capture by the canvas.

My unconventional palette forces me to be in the immediate present, as well as the immediate past and future.  I have to create a balance between my inner and outer self.  If I lose touch with this equilibrium I can actually be considered an intruder to the paint experiment and scar the experiment; much as we do our host planet.  I recreate the push-pull forces that shape and mold all things near and far.  As a result, I recreate satellite view of the Earth and places scattered throughout the universe.  It goes beyond my imagination but not my abilities and efforts to peer into the vast, amazing and mysterious universe.  Since I do not know the outcome of each unique experiment, these "reactive improvisations" bring me uncharted territory.

................................................................

MULTIPLE ONENESS
TIME RELEASED PERFORMANCES
SETTING PAINT AND MUSIC IN MOTION FOR
KEN CRO-KEN, painter     Matt Sullivan electro/acoustic oboe

To narrow the gap between what gallery goers see
and the events that led to it's creation. 
I joined forces with the incredible electro/acoustic oboist Matt Sullivan
and projected live paint experiment on a screen during performances.
Further projections include past paint experiments in all weather conditions;
along with video of our neighboring planet ;
to show not only how space looks but how it moves.

PHOTO: Ari Mintz for The New York Times

"The most unusual work I encountered was “Multiple Oneness,” an intriguing performance-art piece
by  the oboist Matt Sullivan and the painter Ken Cro Ken.  While Mr. Sullivan played a melancholy lament
over recorded sounds,   Mr. Cro-Ken poured liquids onto a canvas projected onto a video screen.
The colorful liquids flowed through the painting’s raised surfaces like yellow lava,
swirling in strange tandem with the oboe’s melancholy tunes."   
-  VIVIEN SCHWEITZER,  FEBRUARY 22, 2011  



Frederick Loewe Theatre, New York, N.Y.                                                                            2015



.....................................................................

Personally, I love Summer but professionally, I love Winter.

"Bushkill Critters Video and Photos                                                                                 2006

Each of the cards I give out offers an original work of art.
One side of my card is not exposed to the elements.
Glued to the other side is the same repeated imagine as the front
and has been exposed to the elements in my outdoor studio.
Nature makes an original of everything it touches…
just as no two snowflakes can be alike.





  The final thought I want to introduce is that I am an Actualist.
Realism and abstraction are perceptions I employ with the creation of a painting
but the foundation of my art experience is in understanding the actual within this world.
 I realize that all we create are earthworks and as such, measures my departure from conventional art.
As an Actualist I have to learn to accept "what is" and hopefully proceed from there.
Choosing to ignore the actual relationship that exists between Nature and Art
has lead to the crisis and challenges we currently face.
In  an age of "Virtual Reality" and "Fake News",
I find it comforting to know that Nature offers facts and not opinions.

THE CONDUCT OF PAINT is an homage to the brilliant ideas offered by Ralph Waldo Emerson
and his book of collected writing of THE CONDUCT OF LIFE.

NATURE REFUSES TO BE MISMANAGED.
- RALPH WALDO EMERSON -