He paints with acrylic and oil. Typical for the New Leipzig School, Krause paints figurative subjects with mysterious and surreal elements and uses collage techniques. His interiors, landscapes and atmospheric scenes have been compared to American realists such as Edward Hopper.[3]
Krause is sympathetic to the far-right German political party AfD. In 2018 the Leipzig art dealership Galerie Kleindienst announced that it would no longer represent Krause due to his political views. In 2019, Krause was one of 37 artists selected to exhibit at the Leipzig Annual Exhibition, but shortly before the exhibition was due to open the organisers announced that he had been ejected from the show, following objections to his inclusion.[4]
Solo exhibitions
1989 Galerie Süd, Leipzig
1994 Galerie Blüthner, Leipzig
1994 Panoramamuseum, Bad Frankenhausen
1994 Galerie Jüdenstraße, Wittenberg
1999 Städtische Galerie, Wesseling b. Cologne
2001 Westfalsches Haus, Leipzig - Markkleeberg
2002 Inter Art Galerie Reich, Cologne
2003 Neue Chemnitzer Kunsthütte, Chemnitz
2005 Gespann, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
2007 Heimsuchung, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
2007 Axel Krause solo exhibition, Gallery LM, Seoul, South Korea