Painter, urbanist, poet and architect, Martin Kruger is also a founding member of the Urban Design Institute of South Africa. ‘Gekaapte Stad’ is the title of his debut poetry collection which is available at Artvark Gallery. 

In his painting practice, Kruger’s characteristic hand stands out through his use of layering. His works break the mold, and inhabit a mysterious realm between representative and abstract expression. His visual plane is strewn with symbols modern, ancient, organic and built, adding to the same indeterminate quality of his practice. 

For Kruger, drawing is much more than simply a design tool. From his drawings, there are paintings that emerge. His paintings reflect imagined cities that later inspire his own buildings as an architect. Much like his drawings, his paintings are laid bare environments that flutter between what is real and what is not. This building up of paint on canvas is considered meditative, “I am drawn to the idea of the palimpsest – the idea of drawing over pre-existing texts, layering over paintings”. 

His works might feel urban yet they contain a natural quality. With chalky, matted textures and luminous colour tones the matte surfaces reflect the natural world. Kruger’s work expresses the mystic geometries and structures that lay under both built and natural environments.