Born in Germany in 1980, Kre8 moved to the United States at the age of 5. As a child of a military family, he never remained in one location for long. From an early age, Kre8’s passion for creating art was apparent.
“I was always drawing and doodling,” says Kre8.
However, his artistic talent was not recognized in school. Kre8 struggled to take direction from his art class instructors, typically favoring his own ideas.
At the age of 14, a group of graffiti artists approached Kre8 and invited him to try his hand at graffiti. He joined the group, which came to be known as “Kre8 and ATF,” and participated in graffiti displays across the United States for the next decade.
It was during this period that he adopted the pseudonym “Kre8.” He says that “Kre” stands for “Knowledge Reveals Evolution” while the 8 represents the infinity symbol turned vertical.
“The reason I call myself Kre8 is because I feel and know that I’m the essence of creativity and I love the excitement and enthusiasm that people have when talking about creating something,” he says.
At the age of 25, Kre8 started working as a professional tattoo artist in Florida while continuing to create his own original artwork. Around this time, Kre8 says he discovered the works of Salvador Dalí and began researching different art styles, genres, and artists to help develop a distinct style of his own.
Kre8 later moved from Florida to New Jersey and eventually settled in New York, where he continued to work as a professional tattoo artist.
After seven years in New York, Kre8 felt the need for a change of scenery and decided to move back to Florida—this time residing in Miami.
“I came to Miami and that’s when I really got the art bug,” says Kre8.
Kre8 quickly landed a job as a tattoo artist at a renowned area shop, but his clientele was limited since he hadn’t developed a name for himself in the local community. While Kre8 faced adversity, this also allowed him to spend more time painting—something that, in retrospect, was a “blessing in disguise” for his fine art career.
Before long, Kre8 was offered the opportunity to exhibit his work at the City of Miami Springs City Hall. This exhibition allowed him to solidify connections with local art enthusiasts and ultimately led to the launch of his career as a professional painter.
Following the exhibition, Kre8 displayed his work at pop-up shows, Art Basel in Miami Beach, and other exhibition events at local galleries. He decided to pursue painting full time and left his tattooing career behind. Kre8 now lives in Miami with his wife and three children.