Biography
(Selection)

1965

Born in Nuremberg

1986–1988

Training as cabinetmaker, Cologne

1988–1991

Fine Art Studies, Hombroich with Erwin Heerich

1991–1992

Postgraduate Diploma in Art History, Royal Society of Arts, London

1992–1993

Masters Degree in Fine Art, Sculpture, Chelsea College of Art, London

1993–1994

Lives and works as an artist in London

Since 1994

Studio at Raketenstation Hombroich

Since 1996

Member of the board of Insel Hombroich Foundation

Since 2005

Professor at Peter Behrens School of Arts, Düsseldorf

Since 2009

Member of the board of Architecture Omi, New York

Since 2013

Chairman of the board of Insel Hombroich Foundation

2015

Visiting Professor at The Cooper Union, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, New York

since 2016

Member of the Art Advisory board of the city of Cologne

since 2018

Member of University Advisory board of the HSD, University Dusseldorf

Oliver Kruse lives and works in Cologne and Hombroich.

Summary

Oliver Kruse is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary approach takes inspiration from architecture, geometries, and spatial environments, both constructed and natural. His recent work explores intersections of art and architecture and includes large-scale urban and architecture-related sculpture as well as site-specific, digitally generated projects. It challenges the lines between sculpture and architecture in its efforts to respond to existing sites and enhance the investigation of spatial conditions and their interrelatedness. This is especially evident in „Door to Door“ (2010, Raketenstation Hombroich); „Interrelate“ (2012, St. Moritz, Switzerland); and „Inclinations“ (2014, Hamm, Germany).

Kruse’s ongoing investigation of virtual constructions is a critical aspect of his work. The digital reconstruction of existing forms makes it possible to assemble them in unexpected ways, resulting in works of interwoven geometries that create a cosmos of non-hierarchic, interlaced systems. Other sculptures are like crystalline microcosms, each comprised of several similar components with individual cuttings that fit together to shape a new and distinct form. The interconnected elements of these structures capture the complex nature of Kruse’s work.

Lindy Judge, 2015