Per Kirkeby

Per Kirkeby (1938–2018) was a Danish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and writer whose practice drew on geology, Nordic landscape, art history, and literary culture. Trained as a geologist before turning to art, he became one of Europe’s most significant post-war painters, producing large-scale canvases that combined abstraction, expressionism, and layered historical reference. His brick sculptures, installed in public spaces across Europe, extended his geological concerns into three dimensions. Kirkeby was a central figure in the international renewal of expressive painting during the 1980s and maintained a sustained exhibition presence at major museums, galleries, and biennials throughout his career.

  • Original 1990 Per Kirkeby exhibition invitation for Peintures et Sculptures, Galerie Laage-Salomon, Paris, front, showing a plain cream card with PER KIRKEBY set in large widely spaced black serif capitals centred on an otherwise blank ground. Reverse of 1990 Per Kirkeby exhibition invitation for Peintures et Sculptures, Galerie Laage-Salomon, Paris, showing the gallery name and address — Galerie Laage-Salomon, 57 Rue du Temple, 75004 Paris — printed in black serif type at upper left, below which PER KIRKEBY in bold, Peintures et Sculptures, and the dates 12 janvier–10 février 1990, with the vernissage note at lower left; at upper right a circular Paris postal cancellation dated 27 12 89 and a red meter frank reading 139 / Poster, and below a ty

    Per Kirkeby — Peintures et Sculptures, Galerie Laage-Salomon, Paris, 1990

    Per Kirkeby — Peintures et Sculptures, Galerie Laage-Salomon, Paris, 1990