In the 1970s Kirkeby began to embrace painting and its history, creating an individual style of neo-expressionism, of which he is so well known for. His works were loosely influenced by the German painting scene of Baselitz, Penck, Markus Lüpertz and Jörg Immendorff, all of whom brought a renewed emphasis on formalism and painterly technique to an art world which had, nearly given up on their medium.

It was during this period of the 1970s that his career started to pick up pace internationally, first within Europe and then in the United States. Louisiana Museum became a loyal supporter of Kirkeby´s art and the museum today has the largest collection of his artworks worldwide. Kirkeby rose to fame during the early 1980s alongside fellow European Neo-Expressionist, and began receiving immense critical attention internationally.

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