Bio

Judith Kruger was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1955. She studied art from the age of 6 at the Carnegie Museum and Carnegie Mellon University. Judith graduated from Syracuse University in 1977 with a BFA in Illustration, including a year at Central St Martin’s College of Art, London, England.

Through the 70’s, she worked in advertising, television, and publishing in Cincinnati, Ohio and New York City. In 1985 she founded Colorworks Design, Ltd., specializing in new product development for prestigious clientele, some of which included Copco, Crate and Barrel, Federated Department Stores, Lincoln Center, Neiman Marcus, Metropolitan Opera, Philippe Deshoulières, and Salton. During this 20+ year span, she collaborated with artisans in Europe, Asia, Mexico, India and South America.

A trip to Kyoto, Japan led Judith to her discovery of Nihonga, Japanese mineral pigment painting. She was immediately drawn to the beauty of Nihonga’s pure, luminous color. Here was her destiny; an ancient art form, that combined her lifelong passion for color, natural material and historical, arcane processes. Since 2001, Judith has immersed herself in a unique study of Nihonga. As a result, she has connected deeply with pigment experts around the globe. Melding pure, Eastern traditional materials and time-honed techniques with her American aesthetic and point of view has resulted in compelling, process driven, contemporary, sustainable works.

In August 2007, Judith represented the USA in a collaborative Ground Zero installation in Hiroshima, Japan incorporating the works of five US artists and five Asian artists; curated by Katsumi Kitada, Nihonga Professor, Hiroshima City University. In Fall 2008, Judith taught the first university-level studio class in the USA in Nihonga, Nihonga: Then and Now, at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also won a grant from the Dept of Cultural Affairs to teach, Getting the Dirt on Paint, at John C. Coonley Elementary School, Chicago, IL. She has consulted and lectured extensively across the country. From 2003-2008 Judith developed and sourced the Judith Kruger Studio line of mineral- pigmented Klay tableware and ombre textiles. She travelled extensively to Japan, India and Thailand under a license agreement with Carlisle Home Products, Oklahoma City, OK.  The introductory collection is available through Susan Fredman at Home in the City, Chicago, IL.

Judith co-innovated and produced Cirque: a multi-sensory happening in Chicago, IL raising more than $250,000 dollars to fund AIDS research. She mobilized and managed the collective creativity and energy of a group of 75 artists, architects, designers and vendors to impact the global AIDS pandemic.

Judith continues to exhibit her works internationally in museums and galleries. She is represented in Chicago by Perimeter Gallery, in Philadelphia by Carol Rubenstein Associates, in Santa Fe, New Mexico by The Edge and in Arizona by Bentley Gallery.  She currently lives and works in Savannah, GA.