Michael J. Krueger

photo of Michael Krueger
  • Professor

Contact Info

Office Phone:
785-864-3695
Department Phone:
785-864-4042
Chalmers Hall, room 212F

Personal Links

Biography —

Grounded firmly in drawing, Michael Krueger works in a variety of media including, painting, drawing, printmaking, animation, and ceramics. Krueger’s artwork reflects a deep interest in American history, contemporary American culture, art history, the human experience, and personal memoir.

Michael Krueger’s artwork has been included in over 300 exhibitions, and recent solo exhibitions include prestigious venues such as: Académie Beeldende Kunsten, Ghent, BE, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA and Blackburn 20/20, New York, NY. Important group exhibitions include, The Drawing Center, New York, NY, KRETS Gallery, Malmo, Sweden, The Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO, Ambacher Contemporary, Munich, Germany, Glasgow Print Studio, Scotland, UK, Adam Baumgold, New York, NY, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Philadelphia, PA and the Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA.

Michael’s primary teaching responsibilities at the University of Kansas include, drawing, intaglio, relief and visual culture. He has also taught numerous workshops across the country and abroad including, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, St. Luc, E.R.G., Brussels, Belgium, Instituto Superior de Arte, Asunción, Paraguay, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the San Francisco Art Institute.

Education —

MFA in Printmaking & Drawing, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
BFA in Printmaking & Drawing, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD

Research —

The charge for artists like me is to embed an idea in material. And in doing so create something that exists beyond language, in a non-linear, paradoxical realm where several things can be true at the same time. To create a work of art that can be seen with the eyes and the mind and transcends the material origins. In this way art is alchemical, it is not direct or tangible but rather mystical, prophetic and psychic. It is a calling, an obsession, and people become artists because they must, and there is simply no other way to navigate through this world for them, for me. Art teaches us about who we are as a culture and how we relate to the world; it is also a large part of the legacy that is left behind for future generations to know us, themselves and better understand who we are becoming.

Research interests:

  • printmaking
  • drawing
  • painting
  • animation
  • curating
  • art history
  • contemporary art

Teaching —

My goal in teaching is to encourage critical thinking and the development of each student's distinctive creative abilities. From freshman foundation to senior courses, my primary job as a teacher is to provide the course structure, a diversity of teaching and assessment methods, and one-on-one mentoring that will challenge each student. Integral to this process is the encouragement of each student to develop a sense of ardor for the creative process. It is this intensity that will motivate students to learn the necessary technical and conceptual skills to pursue their lives as artists.

Teaching interests:

  • art
  • printmaking
  • drawing

Selected Presentations —

  • Visiting Artist Lecture, Fukui Art Museum, Fukui, Japan. (04/02/2023)
  • Keynote Address, Oso Bay Printmaking Biennial XXII, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX. (10/08/2022)
  • Panel Member, Hippie Modernism / Drop City Film Screening & Panel Discussion, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. (12/31/2015)

Exhibitions —

Selected Solo Exhibitions

  • Untie the Spell, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO. 2023
  • Nobody’s Perfect (A Political Message of Imperfection), Fuga Villa Morra, Asuncion, Paraguay. 2022
  • (Just Like) Starting Over, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO (catalog). 2021
  • Grafische Werken, Michael Krueger, Vrije Grafiek Galerij, Academie Beeldende Kunsten, Gent, Belgium. 2019
  • There from Here, Selected Drawings from 2008-2018, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO. 2018.
  • Meditation is Not What You Think, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA. 2015
  • See Be. Haw Contemporary. Kansas City. MO. USA. 2015

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • Wandering Light, Michael Krueger, Jenny Schmid & Tom Reed, City of Fukui Art Museum, Fukui, Japan. (2023)
  • Go Ahead: Stories of Location and Belonging, Tamarind Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. (2019)
  • Welcome to the Neighborhood, Kansas City Artists on the Midwest Experience, La Esquina, Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City, MO. (2018)
  • Possible Blueprint, Michael Krueger & Elizabeth Ferrill, Planthouse Gallery, New York, NY. (2016)
  • Nondoing, Michael Krueger & Alex Reed. Reece Gallery. St. Louis. MO. USA. 2016
  • Possible Blueprint, Michael Krueger & Elizabeth Ferrill. Planthouse Gallery. New York. NY. USA. 2016
  • Contemporary American Prints, (curated by Andrew DeCaen). Il Bisonte Gallery, Il Bisonte Foundation for the Study of Printmaking. Florence. Italy. 2016
  • Free Radicals: Remixing History Through the Power of Print, (curated by Jenny Schmid & Howard Oransky). Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota. Minneapolis. MN. USA. 2016
  • Only By Night. Planthouse. New York. NY. USA. 2015
  • The Satellite Show @ Artist Run. Artist Run, Miami Beach, FL (represented by DUSK). Miami Beach. FL. USA. 2015
  • More Scapes, The Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO. (2013)
  • Three Americans, Randy Bolton, Michael Krueger & John Schulz, Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. (2010)