JEPPE KRUSE

(DK)

Jeppe Kruse b. 1952

He became a member of the union of arts in 1988 and was represented by Gallery Trap, by Jørgen Trap-Jensen. The backroom of this gallery was often frequented by well known artists and this was the entry for Kruse into the Danish art scene.

With education in pedagogical work and a bachelor degree in the field of gestalt therapy, Kruse worked as a leader of the art department in the psychiatric center Saint Hans and a school of the arts for the mentally vulnerable in Copenhagen, for several years.

Jeppe Kruse primarily uses an abstract technique in his imagery. Basic forms and archetypal shapes occur in the works and add a kind of open story that seems to have a both psychological and mythological character.

The colours are oftentimes bold, especially seen in the work done in acrylic ink within the last few years where Kruse explores the contrast of the tamed and untamed. Colours are allowed to flow alongside important elements such as composition, balance and resistance, all playing an important part in the structure of the paintings.

The arbitrariness of the movement of the colours, and the loose brushstrokes, are combined with a sense of stringency when Kruse draws toilsome patterns or small abstract shapes with an acrylic pen on top of the ink. The contrast in colours or the shift from soft colour choices into neat patterns awakes the beholder, although never with the intention of creating turbulence or to provoke. On the contrary, Kruse is an artist intent on being generous with both softness and harmony. Furthermore, works by Kruse encourage the beholder to slow down in order to move with the gestures of the composition through the images, so that the colour combinations and details can reveal themselves. Clarity and simplicity along with a dash of subtlety are qualities Kruse strives to achieve within his works of art. Oftentimes the paintings keep being uncompromising to himself, even though they are motivated and filled with drive and willpower. With small figurative clues, patterns or surfaces creating a unique shape or an almost recognizable figure, a desire to understand the paintings is titillated by Jeppe. The paintings invite you to identify and imagine what is really going on in the abstract images. These are joined by titles that are either completely specific or made up by small quirky narratives that adds a new and offbeat perspective to the paintings, and this once again makes the beholder mull over the meaning behind the art.

Aside from being a tenacious creator of paintings, Jeppe is also significantly involved with curatorial work within the field of art. A cornerstone of his curatorial work would be the experimental exhibition called KIKshh, located in the old chapel at Saint Hans Psychiatric Hospital. Since 2015 Jeppe has continuously curated exhibitions at KIKshh, where he with an including and generous attitude has drawn in a wide range of artists across generations. His latest project in this regard is the exhibition “First annual open air sculpture artshow” at KIKssh, where young students from the academy are invited to showcase their sculptures in the garden surrounding the chapel.

Books by Jeppe Kruse:

2014 ”Det stopper kværnen i mit hoved” History about the of the art center at Sct. Hans.

2018 ”Håndbog” a collection of photos and nano poems.

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