Kempf was born in Melbourne on 20 June 1926,[1] and studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, then (between 1957 and 1960)[1] in Perugia, Italy, and with Oscar Kokoschka in Salzburg,[2] Austria.
[citation needed] Kempf worked with and in a variety of media, styles, and methods, including paint, print, etching, lithograph, monotype, screenprint, textile, and woodcut.
[citation needed] His thought and work was influenced by Jewish mysticism, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Cavafy and Proust.
Throughout a series of metaphors, symbols and allegories in a sombre and profound manner he commemorates the miracle of being and condemns all that is oppressive and coercive.
[5]In 1964, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society UK, and in January 2003, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the Arts.