Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art

Known for her exquisite large-scale architectural photographs, where buildings emerge from a jet-black background,Irene Kung’s second solo show with Chiaroscuro will feature her majestic tree series. The title of her show, Gli Alberi, Italian for “The Trees”, pays homage to her roots and to these graceful and powerful natural wonders. Kung’s trees are extraordinary. Using her mastery of digital manipulation, she accentuates every leaf and branch, raising the contrast and depth to hyper-realistic levels. While it is possible to get lost in the details, these renderings nevertheless retain a quality of light that brings the trees to life with dynamic gesture and form.

Irene Kung was born in Switzerland and trained as a painter. Based in Switzerland after many years abroad, her work has achieved international recognition. In the past few years she has expanded her repertoire to include photography.  Her subjects range from architectural monuments to exotic plant life and Argentinian horses.