About

Sebastian Krüger

Sebastian Krüger

Born in 1963
Hamelin,
Germany,

Krüger’s determination to be an artist followed him through school and into his tertiary education. Studying at the Art Academy Braunschweig, Krüger deepened his skills and knowledge in painting and fine art. Lecturers at the academy encouraged Krüger to change his realistic representation style to be more abstract, this was to no avail. Obsessed with Punk Music and fueled by beer, Krüger made the decision to move into commercial art within the entertainment industry. With his mind fixed on what he loved, he left the academy behind without completing his degree in an effort to pursue his dream. 

One area of focus within the entertainment world that has been prolific throughout Krüger’s career has been the Rolling Stones and the unique face of lead guitarist, Keith Richards. The fascination began with a photograph of Keith Richards Krüger happened across in a music magazine. Krüger was yet to hear the music of the Stones but was already hooked by that face.
Keith and Ron Wood

Krüger
and the
Rolling Stones

The Stones first became aware of Krüger’s work in 1989 when Hartmut Becker, who was his agent at the time, showed their management team his folio of Stones caricatures. When shown the artwork  ‘Master as Puppet’ an image where Keith stands central as the puppeteer with his hand up a puppet of Mick. Prince Rupert Loewenstein who was the Rolling Stones' business adviser and financial manager from 1968 until 2007 was less than impressed dismissed the work. But Pierre de Beauport, Keith’s guitar technician was amused by the work and took a copy to show Keith. A few weeks later Krüger received a handwritten letter simply stating “Very interesting work- it must have been a good pencil…“  the letter also showed a phone number to call and was signed by Keith Richards. 

The long-lasting friendship between the artist and the band started the next year in Berlin during the ‘Urban Jungle’ tour where Krüger and the Stones met backstage for the first time. This friendship has continued to grow over the decades. Krüger and Ronnie Wood, who also has a passion for painting have even held exhibitions together in galleries across North America and the United Kingdom. 

Keith and the Stones continue to be a source of inspiration to this day. But, Krüger isn’t only focussed on the Stones. As well as capturing the likeness of countless celebrities and musicians, Krüger has broadened his range to cover many styles from caricatures, all the way through to hyper-realistic portraits. His work has been published on the covers of internationally distributed magazines and albums. Including work for another famous musician buddy, Slash and the German rock bands BAP and Tankard.
Now pop realism stones

New
Pop
Realism

At the start of the new millennium, Krüger gave up his career as a commercial illustrator to dedicate his time to pursuing fine art in the form of large-format hyper-realistic paintings where he’s been credited with the reinvention of the ‘New Pop Realism’ style. Krüger is not boxed into this style though and will go with the style or subject matter that suits his mood at the time. 

Krüger is now recognised as an artist that sits among those individuals that he himself once admired. People who have used their unique talents in acting, music or any art form to delight and lift the spirits of audiences around the world. And now, some of his original art is owned and passed through the hands of those who themselves have delighted and inspired him and others. These include Stan Winston, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez, Slash, Axl Rose, Steven Tyler and even the former CEO of Nike, Mark Parker to name a few. 

Krüger’s work has been exhibited in a number of galleries and museums around the globe including; Hanover, Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne, Hamburg, Bremen, Greiz, Dresden, Leipzig, Gronau in Germany.  And across Europe and across the Atlantic in cities like; Utrecht, Antwerp, London, Malmö, New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Scottsdale, Austin and Denver.

Friends of Krüger

Sylvester Stallone
Ron Wood
Sebastian & Wolfgang
Wladimir Klitschkow
Lemmy
Steven Tyler
Slash
Robert Rodriguez
Ronnie & Keith
Alexandra Nicole Richards
Bernard and Sebastian
With Theodora Dupree Richards
 

Behind the faces



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Quotations

Krüger with Robert Rodriguez

Robert
Rodriguez
about Krüger

Mindblowing! There's nothing I love more than turning people on to Krüger's work. He never ceases to amaze. I've been collecting his books, prints, and paintings since 1997, and I just can't get enough. Sebastian is explosively original and an extreme talent. He's also become increasingly difficult to describe. A brillant portrait artist? A caricaturist that hits his mark with pointed accuracy? An inspiration? Sebastian is all that and more. Seeing him in action at his workshop in Germany was the most creatively transformative experience in my life, and proved he's a fantastic teacher on top of it all. Keep 'em coming Kruger!

Robert Rodriguez is a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor cartoonist & musician (participated at Krüger's 2011 Master Class).

Christian
Baha
about Krüger

As a globally established artist and master of his trade, Sebastian Krüger is ranked among the main emphases of my art collection. Sebastian's versatile body of creative work and his extraordinary technique fascinated me from the first moment I saw his painting in an art collection in Los Angeles. Sebastian's paintings show a timeless top quality and unique efficacy which makes reality fade away despite the photorealistic depiction. Sebastian has long since achieved world fame as a caricaturist in his early years, and his early works characterized magazines or newspapers such as Rolling Stone, USA Today, Der Stern and Der Spiegel. His realistic and precise masterpieces featuring international celebrities from the realm of business, politics, art and above all music and film show us Sebastian Krüger's great potential. He is able like no other to give expression to the psychological moment of the person being portrayed and to render a personal insight into the traits of the depicted person. Sebastian's art hits the nerve of the times and assumes a pioneering position due to his artistic skill, which is why his artistic climax still lies ahead of us. And I am especially looking forward to that.

Sebastian Krüger will go down in art history as grandmaster and remain a top star in the long run.

Christian Baha is a financial investor and art collector
Sebastian Krüger

Krüger
about Krüger

My approach when painting is actually always the same.

First of all, I collect everything together as an art collage. I find photos of my „victim“, single out the most prominent points and features, and then I put everything together. The reproduction of photos, merely copying an original, regardless of who, is not my thing. But the same also applies here: no rule without exeption. As in the case of blues legend Robert Johnson, of whom there were only two photos during his lifetime.

I do not project onto a canvas or board. Never. Because the way is the goal. I want to fight my way through. Every now and then I make a rough screen, depending on how large the painting is. That simply helps. But usually it is simply a „rough estimate“ in the classical manner of painting, a one knows from the old masters. I also do not do any photo editing on a computer. I work as Spartan as possible. I could make it much easier on myself, but I have no desire to do so. With other fellow painters I can quite easily recognize whether they use implements such as projection or photo editing on a computer. You simply see it. It always has a different quality if a person has developed something themselves and their own DNA is in it. It is still handcraft, and that makes the difference and the intensity in the expression.