Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture

Per Kirkeby (b. 1938) is Scandinavia’s most highly acclaimed artist since August Strindberg and Asger Jorn. His early training as a geologist is evident in his richly layered canvases, which are structured like geological strata, constantly in flux, expressing movement and change over time. His striking bronze sculptures of fragmented body parts, reminiscent of Rodin, are similarly based in a deep dialogue with nature.

Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture is an essential introduction to the work of this important contemporary artist, who also is a filmmaker, writer, and poet. Klaus Ottmann provides an overview of Kirkeby’s career, from his early association with Minimalism and the Fluxus movement in the 1960s to his recent work, which marries the poetic and metaphysical to the scientific investigation of object matter. This handsome book also features an interview by Dorothy Kosinski with the artist that highlights his unique approach.