Paul Kirps was born in Luxembourg. In 1996, he graduated in visual
communication from the Ecal in Lausanne, Switzerland. Various commissions
and collaborations led him, at the end of the 1990s, from Vienna to Paris
and Amsterdam. In 2000, he became a founding member of "Qua-Lab"
- an experimental design lab - in Barcelona. He later accepted the post of
artistic director for the publications centre at Expo.02 in Switzerland.
His projects as an independent designer include the conception of books
about Ruedi Baur and Izima Kaoru for which he was honoured with the
"Barcelona Laus Award". Since founding his own studio in Luxembourg in
2004, his work has been evolving in various contexts. It encompasses graphic
creations such as posters, catalogues and illustrations upon commission, as
well as artistic projects, exhibitions and personal editions.
For the "Graphique Deluxe" exhibition in 2005, he created a monumental
illustration on the front façade of the Mudam "Camp de Base" building
(Luxembourg-Kirchberg). In October of that same year, he participated with
his project "protekt" - universal protection set - in the exhibition "safe-design
takes on risk", at the MoMA in New York.
Between 2004 and 2005, Paul Kirps ventured into completely new territory,
that of film. He created "autoreverse", a series of five audio-visual sequences
that show decomposing and recomposing machines made from recycled
electrical household appliances. "Autoreverse" was presented, in its preview
in October 2005, within the framework of the fifth "Nuit des Musées" in
Luxembourg, and later as part of the "Eldorado" exhibition for the official
inauguration of the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg.
In early 2007, he participated in the "Kunst macht Schule" project, an
educational programme that invited nine international artists and designers
to lead a one-week workshop in schools throughout Europe. This project was
labeled "Luxembourg et Grande Région-Capitale Européenne de la Culture".
With the "mother" project shown during his first solo exhibition in Switzerland
in March 2008, the artist confirmed his approach which originates at the
intersection of illustration, graphic aesthetics and art. During the same year,
Paul Kirps created "diamonds", a triptych made up from flashy, coloured, acrylic
glass conceived and produced for the "Elo: Inner Exile-Outer Limits" group
exhibition held at the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg.
In the context of the "Rough Cut: Design Takes a Sharp Edge" group exhibition,
his "autoreverse" video-installation was presented, for the first time, in the USA.
From December 2008 till April 2009, the project will be on show at the MoMA
in New York, and will then join the museum's design collection. "Autoreverse"
is already, after "protekt", Paul Kirps’ second project to be integrated in an
exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
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