The first book on the New York–based painter whose large-scale canvases portray young figures in charged states of intimacy and vulnerability against the backdrop of contemporary urban life.

Krewer’s raw, emotionally resonant figurative works captured international attention almost immediately after his emergence in the art world. A powerful painter with an extraordinary command of the medium for someone so early in his career, his work is rendered in bold brushwork and shifts between moody and riotous palettes. Krewer’s large-scale paintings often depict youthful figures—frequently male—in ambiguous or confrontational poses. The immediacy, and often urgency, of his imagery draws viewers into complex emotional terrain. 

The artist has had a dizzying ascent: his work has been the subject of surveys at museums such as Aspen Art Museum and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, all while career-defining institutions have acquired his work, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Hammer, Los Angeles; MCA Chicago; and the Walker Art Center, among many others. This oversize volume bound in Italian cloth and housed in a clothbound slipcase honors this extraordinary artist’s practice: it features the full arc of his career with new critical essays offering fresh insights into Krewer’s influences, methods, and artistic evolution.

About The Author

Hiji Nam is a New York–based critic and writer who focuses on contemporary art and the politics of identity. Evan Moffitt is an art writer specializing in modern and contemporary painting. Jonathan Anderson is the creative director of the fashion house Dior.