World-renowned Danish polymath Per Kirkeby dies

The ‘King of Danish painters’ was 79-years-old

Per Kirkeby, the Danish neo-expressionist painter who also worked as sculptor, poet, writer, and filmmaker has died.

Kirkeby’s art was influenced by his training as a geologist and his expeditions to Greenland and Mexico. This resulted in works that synthesised nature and art. His semi-abstract paintings often feature themes of sedimentation and stratification and his observations on the natural world

A long life in the arts
Born in Copenhagen in 1938, Kirkeby completed a Master’s degree in arctic geology at the University of Copenhagen in 1964 before he studied at the Experimental Art School of Copenhagen.

Kirkeby made pop-inspired works on masonite in the 1960s. His first solo exhibition was held in Copenhagen in 1965, but he would not gain international attention until the 1980s.

READ MORE: Newly-discovered works from world-famous Danish avant-garde artist go on display

His paintings and sculptures can be found in major museums like the Tate in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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