From 1978 to 1981 Hendrik Krawen learned painting in the studio of the painter and graphic artist Rainer Erhard Teubert and 1980, architectural representation at a commercial artist in Lübeck. From 1982 to 1984 and from 1985 to 1990 he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the class of Alfonso Huppi. In 1990 he was one of the initiators of the project "EX WM" and between 1992 and 1994 of the project space WP8 (Artists Association) in Düsseldorf. He worked as a visiting professor 2007/2008 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Hendrik Krawen lives and works in Berlin.
