Dušanka Kralj is an abstract painter whose work has been exhibited at venues across the country and featured in many publications including art magazines and recently accepted for a third book. She has won numerous awards in juried exhibitions in Washington and California. Although trained for many years inside academia she is most fond of her training under Judith Hale, now deceased, a student of Helen Frankenthaler.

Kralj comes from an artistic family that emigrated to the U.S. from Slovenia. She attended the University of Wisconsin and began her career as a graphic artist in the audiovisual and photography industry during the 1970’s. In 1992, she devoted herself to painting in the Abstract Expressionist style under Scottish born artist, Paul Gardner. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, studying art history in France and Italy. She currently lives and paints full time in seaside California among the Redwoods.

Dušanka parallels the psychological developmental process into her paintings by first establishing a foundation. Layers of luminous color representing the passage of time are built-up on the painting.  After sufficient layers are applied, the deconstruction process begins as she digs into the painting exposing traces of the under-layers to the viewer thereby integrating the past with the present. In the resulting works, the viewer sees hints and traces of the subterranean world veiled in external mystery.