Per Kirkeby was a Danish painter, sculptor and writer. In 1962 he entered the Eksperimenterende Kunst-skole (Experimental Art School) in Copenhagen. His first important one-man exhibition abroad was at the Museum Folkwang, Essen, in 1977. He later exhibited widely at public and commercial galleries throughout Europe and the USA.
A prolific artist, Kirkeby used a range of different media. He was a member of the Fluxus group and was influenced by Pop art in the 1960s. Later he was influenced by Tachism and Abstract Expressionism. The vigorous brushwork and chromatic beauty of his, mostly untitled, paintings and the sensuous modelling of his rough black bronzes have earned him the title “lyric expressionist”. The paintings, which tend towards the abstract, bear veiled iconographic reference, largely to the Danish landscape and the female figure.
In contrast to the poetic and dramatic character of his paintings and black bronzes Kirkeby’s brick sculptures display an unusual clarity. They make strong reference to traditional Danish housing and are inspired by Mayan architecture, as in the house-like, symmetrical form (1973) at Ikast, Denmark. In 1981 Kirkeby completed a group of such sculptures for the County Council building in Ålborg. His concern with experiment and conceptual art led him to execute a series of works in chalk on blackboard, and he regularly published poetry, essays and travel books, as well as making television and full-length documentary films. He also produced many artist’s books, such as the “picture novel” Landskaberne (“Landscapes”; Copenhagen, 1969).
Per Kirkeby died in Copenhagen on 9 May 2018, aged 79.
Honorary RA
Born: 1 September 1938 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: 9 May 2018
Nationality: Danish
Elected Hon RA: 28 May 2011
Gender: Male
Visit Per Kirkeby Hon RA (1938 - 2018)'s website
Preferred media: Painting and Sculpture
2015 Per Kirkeby. Komplet, Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
Per Kirkeby. Backstein: Skulptur und Architektur, KUB
Sammlungsschaufenster, Bregenz
2014 Per Kirkeby, Kunsthalle Gießen
Per Kirkeby. Kaltnadel, Bronze, Holz, Pinakothek der Moderne, München
2013 Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture 1964-2010, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick
Strukturen der Natur. Franz Marc und Per Kirkeby: Druckgraphik, Franz Marc Museum, Kochel am See
Per Kirkeby, Michael Werner Gallery, London
2012 Per Kirkeby, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Per Kirkeby. Maler - Forscher - Bildhauer - Poet, Museum Küppersmühle, Duisburg
Per Kirkeby. Neue Masonite, Galerie Michael Werner, Märkisch Wilmersdorf
Kirkeby Epiphany, NCG Glyptothek Copenhagen
Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture 1964-2010, The Phillips Collection, Washington
2011 Per Kirkeby, Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne
Per Kirkeby, Thomas Knöll Galerie, Basel
Per Kirkeby, Michael Werner Gallery, New York
2010 Per Kirkeby - Hansentryk, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen
Per Kirkeby - Zeichnungen, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich
2009 Per Kirkeby. Retrospektive, Tate Modern, London; Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf
Per Kirkeby – Masonite und Modelle, Centro de Arte y Naturaleza, Huesca, Spain
2008 Per Kirkeby. Drawings, Watercolors and Graphic Works, Vejle Kunstmuseum, Vejle, Denmark
Per Kirkeby. Retrospektive, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek
Per Kirkeby. Tavler & Skulpturer, Galleri Bo Bjerggaars, Copenhagen
“Per Kirkeby arkivet”, Aros Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Arhus
Per Kirkeby: Natures mortes, Galerie Michael Werner at Galerie de France, Paris
Per Kirkeby, Michael Werner Gallery, New York, with a text by Chris Ofili
Per Kirkeby: Tavler & Skulpturer, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen
Per Kirkeby, Tate Modern, London; museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf
Per Kirkeby - Malerei und Skulpturen, Künstlerhaus mit Galerie e.V. in Göttingen
Per Kirkeby, Paintings, Michael Werner Gallery, New York
Per Kirkeby and the ‘Forbidden Paintings’ of Kurt Schwitters, Retrospective, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brüssel
Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Scultpure, The Phillips Collection, Washington; Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick
Per Kirkeby: Recent Paintings, Michael Werner Gallery, London, text by Walter Grasskamp
Per Kirkeby, Kunsthalle Gießen, with texts by Marcel Baumgartner, Ute Riese
Per Kirkeby, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München / Pinakothek der Moderne, München, texts by Michael Semff, Ulrich Wilmes, Poul Erik Tojner