Per Kirkeby

(Danish, 1938–2018)

Per Kirkeby is a Danish artist whose interest in geology and natural environments exerted great influence over his paintings and brick sculptures. Entrenched in the conceptual understanding of structures, Kirkeby worked within specific parameters to contain the urgency of mark making. “A structure-less painting is, to me, a painting that does not matter. Structure mirrors your degree of responsibility toward the work,” he once said. “You can't just let it float around in pretty colors. It needs a kind of core.” Born on September 1, 1938 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Kirkeby studied geology at the University of Copenhagen, but continued to pursue his art practice, producing paintings, sculpture, films, and prints. During the 1960s, Kireby’s performance art led him to collaborations with Fluxus artists, including Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, and Charlotte Moorman. Sadly, in 2013 Kirkeby suffered a serious brain injury in a fall, was unable to paint prior to his death on May 9, 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, among others.