BIO / CV
Paul Kruger was born in 1980 and raised in New York City. As a child, he would play along the Hudson River, makingswords and walking sticks out of the washed-up driftwood. He studied at LaGuardia, a high school specializing in visual arts as well as The Art Students League; and later, Paul earned a BFA at The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in lower Manhattan.
In 2008, he began to revisit the path along the Hudson River, now seeing seas of industrial man-made NYC driftwood left for waste. Becoming enthralled with the possibilities of where the pieces came from, what they were in their past lives, and how they could be transformed, Paul began recycling the driftwood into sculptures. In 2012, he fine-tuned his craft, taking on bigger projects and using wood from fallen trees across the nation. He paired the natural wood with industrial steel bases and created "Fallen Industry,” a design company that produces one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. His work has been featured on NY1 News and in the NY Daily News, Crain's New York, and New York Magazine, to name a few.
Today, Kruger uses all the skills, techniques, and resources he has accumulated over the years to create incredible, organically-shaped sculptures and unique functional pieces that blend traditional joinery with natural contemporary forms. Paul Kruger's art reflects his ability to see new purpose and beauty in what would otherwise have been discarded or destroyed.
EDUCATION
1993 - 1997 LaGuardia H.S for Art
1999 - 2001 Art Student’s League
1997 - 2001 SVA School of Visual Arts
PRESS / PUBLICATIONS
2016 - NY1 News, “Brooklyn Art Exhibit Falls Into Place as Way to Lift Cancer Patients' Spirits”
2015 - Westchester Magazine, "eARTh day"
2015 - The Tibune Review "Art Inter/National exhibit is an impressive showcase"
2014 - News 12, “Brooklyn’s Best - Tree Art”
2014 - AM New York, Article “Building a business on ‘Fallen’ trees”
2014 - NY Daily News, Interview/Article “Timber! New York City’s own wood whisperer Paul Kruger”
2014 - Collectively, Interview “The Brooklyn Designer Using Wrecked Trees To Make Art”
2013 - NY1 News, Interview “Artist Crafts Driftwood, Fallen Trees Into Sculptural Furnishings”
2013 - NY Magazine, Article “Best Bets section”
2013 - Crain’s New York, Interview “Paul Kruger turns fallen trees into art”
2013 - DNAinfo, Interview “Wood Blooms Into Unique Hand-Crafted Furniture on UWS”
2013 - Woodland Magazine, Article, “Fallen and Diseased Trees Given Second Life”
2012 - Thrillist “This furniture has lived, man”
EXHIBITIONS
2016 MAR - Solo Show - "Wooden Waterfalls" | MSK Brooklyn Infusion Center - Brooklyn, NY
2015 DEC - Group Show - "Precision: Evidence of Care" | MSK Brooklyn Infusion Center - Brooklyn, NY
2015 NOV - Group Show (Regional finalist) Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series 2015 | Rush Gallery of Fine Art- Chelsea, NY
2015 AUG - Group Show - "And Then It Starts To Sound Like The Beach" | Postscrypt Gallery, Rooftop Sculpture Park, 270 Broadway - Brooklyn, NY
2015 JUL - Group Show - “Art From the Boros III” | Denise Bibro Fine Art – Chelsea, NY
2015 JUL - Solo Show - "Roots" | Chashama - 300 W 30th Street, NY
2015 MAY - Solo Show - "Change of Growth" | LaGuardia University Atrium Showcase Gallery - Long Island City, NY
2015 APR - Group Show - "eARTh day" | Kenise Barnes Fine Art - Larchmont, NY
2015 APR - Solo Show - "Fallen" | WIX Gallery and Event Space - New York, NY
2015 MAR - Group Show (Year long exhibition) "Vantage Points" | Memorial Sloan Kettering - New York, NY
2015 FEB - Permanant (Bi-Monthly Rotating Display) | 218 W.18th St. Commercial Lobby, NY
2015 JAN - Group Show “14th Annual Art Inter/National Exhibition” | Box Heart Gallery - Pittsburgh, PA
2014 DEC - Group Show (Best in Show) “Holiday Salon Show” | Greenpoint Gallery - Brooklyn, NY
2014 OCT - Group Show (Special Merit) | Light Space and Time - Online gallery