Michael KREUTER (1940-2022), Abstraction Important Large Modern Painting

Michael KREUTER (1940-2022), Abstraction Important Large Modern Painting, Oil on Canvas

Measures: 200 x 160 cm

Michael Krebber (born 1954, Cologne – lives and works in New York) stands as one of the most provocative and intellectually rigorous painters of his generation. What distinguishes Krebber is not a decorative flourish or flamboyant style, but a deep, persistent inquiry into what painting can — and cannot — be. Over decades, he has articulated a subtle yet radical critique of the medium itself. 

Krebber’s paintings frequently challenge the traditional expectations of color, composition, and meaning. His works are characterized by restraint, minimal gestures, repetition, and a sense of hesitation — as if each canvas were asking: Is this still painting? This ambivalence becomes a statement: in an era saturated with images, Krebber interrogates painting’s relevance, exploring its endurance, its potential for “exhaustion and renewal,” and the ways in which it intersects with history, materiality, and institutional frameworks. 

Rather than dazzling with spectacle, his canvases often rely on subtle shifts — delicate interplay of form and void, suggestion rather than assertion — inviting the viewer not to passively absorb, but to reflect and question.

International Recognition & Major Exhibitions:

Krebber’s work has garnered attention not only in Europe but also across the Atlantic. He has exhibited in many of the art world’s most important institutions and galleries, confirming his influence and legacy on a global scale. Some highlights:

Solo exhibitions at prestigious venues such as Greene Naftali (New York, 2024 & 2021). 

Survey and solo shows in institutions like Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Porto, 2016), Kunsthalle Bern (Bern, 2017), and Museum Ludwig (Cologne, 2015). 

Representation by key galleries across Europe and the U.S.: among them Galerie Buchholz (Cologne/Berlin), Greene Naftali (New York), Galerie Chantal Crousel (Paris), and dépendance (Brussels) — placing his work at the heart of contemporary art dialogues. 

His paintings are held in leading public collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin), and CAPC Musée d'art Contemporain (Bordeaux), among others. 

In recognition of his far-reaching influence, he was awarded the Wolfgang Hahn Prize by Museum Ludwig in 2015 — a testament to the impact of his interrogation of painting and status among European contemporary masters. 

Michael Krebber does not offer easy answers. Rather, he insists on painting as a site of questioning — a space where form, meaning, expectation, and frustration coalesce. He embodies the tension between making and unmaking, between tradition and critique. His work asks us to reconsider the very act of painting — not simply as creation, but as reflection, resistance, and possibility.

To own a Krebber is not just to possess a painting — it is to embrace a legacy of thought, experimentation, and uncompromising artistic honesty. In a world saturated with images, his voice remains singular: quiet, questioning, enduring.

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