INTRODUCTION
Adrénus Craton, is a multi-disciplinary creator, Founder of United HOUSE Studios, Inc. (aka, the HOUSE) and NOVELMODELS ⎯ collectively forming the world's first globally-networked boutique agency with over a decade-long track record dedicated to pioneering next era creative business culture driven by authentic, ethical, sustainable, purposeful, and impactful (ÆSPi) creator initiatives.
EARLY LIFE + ART
Born and raised in Texas, Adrénus began her creative journey from the time she was a little girl, passing artwork under her parents’ door. At an early age, while working on a middle-school project, she became aware for the first time that she wanted her art and creative energies to be a source of light, and to someday, somehow, be part of transforming the world into something better.
She experienced her first public art exhibition at the age of 14, in San Antonio, where she participated in a group show. Graduating a year ahead of her class at age 16, she was offered an art scholarship, but instead, decided to forge her own path in the art world. At 17, already inspired by many historical writers and critical thinkers, she curated her first solo art show in her small hometown in South Texas entitled, “Platonic Art”— bringing to life one of Plato’s poetic concepts of perfection found within imperfection. At age 19, she moved to New York City in pursuit of her passion as a fine artist. In Chelsea, NYC, she presented at a group show with the Agora Art Gallery. Her exhibition was entitled, “Faces” — a collection which brought to life a concept based on life's basic emotions, which according to many creative minds trained in the humanistic discipline, involves living in harmony with one's inner nature and understanding the true nature of reality.
LIFE ABROAD + PHOTOGRAPHY
Several years after her move to New York she began traveling around the world, meeting new people, learning new languages, and studying at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, one of the oldest universities in the world. Notable alumni include the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, poet Jan Kochanowski, and Pope John Paul II. Her exploration of new places and new inspirations for artistic experimentation all led to the development of a multi-genre body of work. Adrénus’ work now includes paintings, photographs, socially-conscious creative collaborations, short films, interviews, documentaries and tales of her own personal adventures.
Her work has been published with the likes of Fashion TV, British Vogue, American Vogue, Suitcase Magazine, Amica BG, Italian Vogue, L’Officiel Italia, Forbes Russia and The Fashionista.
PHILANTHROPY
Living and traveling throughout Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Far Eastern Europe and Africa, Adrénus became involved with many charitable and philanthropic projects. Her paintings have helped raise significant monies for charities around Eastern Europe and the United States. One charity that remains close to her heart is the Art of Elysium, with whom she was invited to participate in their life-changing #artheals initiative in Los Angeles.
This philanthropic spirit paved the way for the founding of the world’s first socially-conscious concept for a modeling agency in 2011, dedicated to the beauty of ethical fashion and philanthropy, NOVELMODELS™. Some years after, while living in Shoreditch, at the center of one of the most artistically-dynamic districts in London, Adrénus also founded London HOUSE Studio, which later came to be known as the HOUSE. In her new role as a creator and a producer, she engaged with incredible teams of photographers, filmmakers, editors, fashion brands, models, designers, hairstylists, makeup artists and other fine artists. All of it was done with a strong desire to create a platform for greater social awareness of the world’s most pressing issues, and to improve the experience of like-minded creators within the industry by focusing on its ethical and moral standards.
MORE RECENT | ART + CREATIVE COLLABORATION
After relocating to New York City in 2017, Adrénus began planning her next art exhibition and studying “Postwar Abstract Painting” at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In November of 2018 she presented at a group exhibition by Saatchi Art in Brooklyn. The large scale pieces exhibited and sold were from her life’s work collection entitled, “Battle of the Soul”— another highly inspired set bringing to life her own personal views and poetic philosophies of the seven sins and seven virtues. This ongoing collection first debuted in Eastern Europe in 2010. It was exhibited again in 2016 at a self-curated show in London, UK at the artist's studio in Shoreditch.
From late 2018, in harmony with Adrénus’ parallel life as fine artist and producer in the creative industries, she began working alongside some of her greatest inspirations, including that of socially and environmentally-conscious fashion photographer, Alexi Lubomirski. Her exposure to Lubomirski's work and close associations with his team (namely, studio director Emily Jean Ullrich and now former agent Anne du Boucheron), counts as one of her most valuable learning experiences on her creative journey inside the industry thus far.
In the spring of 2019, Adrénus departed New York City for her roots in Texas, re-evaluating her goals, re-aligning her spirit and reconnecting with her life’s purpose. At this time, Adrénus came across the grantLOVE project, founded by LA based artist and philanthropist, Alexandra Grant. This in turn, led to a collaboration with Alexandra, championing the founder's profound mission to capture the human spirit within the grantLOVE brand. The photographs from this collaboration were published in 2022, a coffee table hardcover book entitled, "LOVE: A Visual History of the grantLOVE Project." The book includes a collection of works from Alexandra's groundbreaking philanthropic art project and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay.
Returning to NYC the following summer, she was able to gain the inspiration needed to complete one of her most defining pieces to date. She debuted this solo piece at The Assemblage NYC, as part of her new METAMORPHOSIS series of large scale, all-white, heavily textured and detailed oil paintings. This series is in expansion of her ongoing lifelong “Battle of the Soul” collection.
PRESENT DAY
In June 2021, Adrénus became a member of the South Central Texas Art League, where she volunteered her time at the historic Hallet Oak Gallery as a consigned artist. Exclusively represented by United HOUSE Studios, Inc., her latest artworks and collaborations include a Smithsonian Institution sponsored environmental community project which debuted in March 2022, and a Smithsonian commissioned youth project. Remaining open to authentic creative opportunities led the way to her most recent international collaborations in 2023 and 2024, including MAZEHUAL, Lavaca Area Moms, Inc., Saheli Women, Mariama Camara and Simon Whitehouse (founder of EBIT™ and former CEO of ‘sustainability pioneers’ Eco-Age)⎯all within the scope of United HOUSE Studios' dedication to its (ÆSPi) standards and practices.
As an artist, an empath and a dreamer (true to the parallel nature of her life’s work), she now privately coaches and consults internationally, with an acute focus on humanity-driven, impactful (ÆSPi) creator initiatives, and thought-provoking projects.
