ALFRED FREDDY KRUPA | CONTEMPORARY INK PAINTING

ALFRED FREDDY KRUPA
CONTEMPORARY INK PAINTING AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL SEISMOGRAPH

Among Alfred Freddy Krupa’s recent works, one stands out. If for nothing else, then because of the horrifying and extremely dramatic event that ultimately caused its creation.

We find the explanation in one of the many texts published on this occasion in the former Yugoslavia (this is a translation from the Croatian original, KAportal.hr 24.10.2025. 18:51):
HORROR ON THE HIGHWAY.

Famous Croatian painter, Alfred Freddy Krupa from Karlovac, and his family had a nasty car accident.
As he adds, he tried to avoid the blow by turning as far as he could to the right – but there was no space…

“Various extreme situations have happened to me in my life. Today will be remembered as the day my Ljjlja/Lilian, my Eleonora, and I “almost completed our earthly trip” at the same time, writes the famous Croatian painter Alfred Freddy Krupa from Karlovac on his Facebook profile today.

He was in a car accident that seriously injured his wife and himself, and in the post, he described what happened on the highway.

A tire exploded on a truck.

“A truck with a 25-ton load (correction: it was 40 tons in total, truck 25 and load 15) experienced a strong explosion of a tire, fell on its side, and, sliding on it, broke through the protective central fence on the highway, first grazing one of the cars in front of us to hit us on the left side. Everything was so fast and so strong…writes Krupa. As he adds, he tried to avoid the blow by turning as far as he could to the right, “but there was no space…We are all alive,” says Freddy, certainly under the severe shock of what his family has been through.
Alfred told KAportal that everything happened on the Zagreb bypass near the airport. At the exit to Velika Gorica, the truck’s tire burst, and it broke through the fence, beginning to slide towards them.

“He broke through the fence and went toward us. Luckily, he hit us in the car’s roof pillar (the central one took the strongest impact). My daughter was in the passenger seat and did well, my arm was sewn up, and my neck was injured. My wife had three broken ribs, and she remained in the hospital for observation,” Alfred tells us.

Serious injuries
“Lilian has broken 3 ribs and a damaged lung, I have a broken rib, and Eleonora is OK. There is no need for me to list (all) injuries. Our little Chevrolet Spark is going to the scrap yard,” writes the academic painter.
In addition to the aforementioned work and those works that may be in the spectrum of the “expected” (nudes or, for example, landscape as an eternal source of artistic inspiration), ‘How can you be bored with nature? Landscape is infinite, isn’t it?’ /David Hockney/) where Krupa demonstrates and develops what is called “Krupa’s way” (CICA Museum Solo Show, December 2025, South Korea), which is a unique painter’s hand movements, painter’s handwriting, innovative and personal approach to a well-known theme, re-combination of styles, the use of little-used or minimized tools and more, we also find visual testimonies of Krupa’s open mind and interest in some current topics.

It is worth mentioning here his painting (mixed technique on a wooden panel), “UFO: Countdown to Disclosure” from 2021. These days, filmmaker Dan Farah’s documentary “The Age of Disclosure” has aroused great public interest. The film itself has been described as “the unprecedented and revelatory documentary film–featuring 34 senior members of the U.S. Government, military, and intelligence community–reveals an 80-year cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life.” And even greater, global interest is sparked by the announcement of Steven Spielberg’s latest film, which, for now, is billed with the sentence “All will be disclosed” and will premiere on the 12th June 2026. Krupa’s 2021 work “UFO: Countdown to Disclosure” is a symbolic painting in the Surrealist style, executed in acrylic and watercolor on wood, exploring the anticipation of UFO disclosure.

Alfred Freddy Krupa

Often described as a pioneering figure in the New Ink Art movement, Krupa is known for blending classical Eastern ink techniques with Western modernist expression. His methods range from unconventional tools, such as swan and goose feathers, to a mix of motifs spanning nudes, landscapes, and animal studies.

Born in 1971, Krupa is an alumnus of the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, and Tokyo Gakugei University. Over his three-decade career, he has exhibited more than 130 times worldwide and has earned numerous international awards. His works are held in major collections and those of national, regional, and museum institutions across Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.

Alfred (Freddy) Krupa (1971) graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1995, when he also became a member of the HDLU. In 1996, he wrote the foundational document of the painting movement New Ink Art, ‘New Ink Art Manifesto’, and in 1998, he became the first Croatian painter to win a prestigious postgraduate scholarship from the Government of Japan. Studied Japanese ink painting at Tokyo Gakugei University. Exhibited all over the world over 120 times in Croatia (Zagreb, Karlovac, Split etc), Paris, London, Berlin, Budapest, Denver, Karachi /Pakistan/, Portland /Oregon/, Venice, Miami, Sarajevo, Ubeda /Spain/, Tokyo, Anshan /China/, Orange /Australia/, Tirana, Belgrade, Sao Paulo /Brazil/ and many other places).
Multiple honors and awards from China, Greece, the USA, Pakistan, Japan, and other countries. Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the City of Karlovac and the Order of Danica of Croatia with the image of Marko Marulić for exceptional merit in the field of culture and exceptional contribution to the promotion of Croatian fine arts in the country and abroad. He is a regional advisor in the American branch of the International Society of Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting – Tokyo.

Georgina Magklara (curator at the Berlin gallery ChromArt) concludes in autumn 2023: ‘Krupa’s influence on the international art community must be acknowledged in order to discuss his pioneering work. Esteemed art historians and art experts such as Jurgen Weichardt in 2016, Francesco Scagliola in 2017, Ante Vranković in 2018, and Elena Martinique in 2019, explored the depths of Krupa’s unique approach. Their scholarly endeavors shed light on the intricate tapestry of influences shaping his art and the profound significance of his contributions to the world of modern ink painting.’
The most recent critical review, in January 2024, was written by the famous former personal assistant and curator of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Anthony Fawcett (1948, Oxford University – Ruskin School of Art): Alfred Krupa is a Croatian artist steeped in the deep history of his country, but who transcended his homeland and became an internationally respected artist. He developed his very personal language both in paintings and drawings, which have already established him on the world stage. How did he achieve this?
Krupa’s paintings have echoes of Chinese Ink Painting, but he has found his own unique interpretation of that thousand-year-old art form. In particular, his paintings of nudes remind me of Gustav Klimt’s early work.

Krupa studied in Japan, and the influence of his time there is felt in his brightly colored, exotic canvases. Sometimes abstract with vivid hot reds and blacks, they may be a reflection of his time in Tokyo or the geisha districts of a bygone era, but they are very contemporary. On the other hand, Krupa’s works place him firmly in the tradition of 20th-century artists such as Egon Schiele. A multi-talented painter, Krupa has found his place in the pantheon of artists who speak to our hearts and souls, reflecting not only their own anxieties but also reaching out to all of us. Krupa is truly an artist of our time.’

See the full article in Art Market Magazine Edition #110