Born in Düsseldorf, Kricke was a student of Richard Scheibe and Hans Uhlmann at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin. He started creating abstract sculptures from 1947, using wires and other materials associated with industry, such as steel, glass and concrete. He was one of the most important artists in the group known as L'Art Informel, and had close links with ZERO and Nouveau Réalisme. From 1959 he worked with Yves Klein and Werner Ruhnau, and after 1972 he taught at the Art Academy of Düsseldorf, where he died.
One of his more famous works is the Water Forest (1957) outside the Gelsenkirchen Opera House (Musiktheater im Revier). He also created wire sculptures for Münster Theatre (1955/566) and fountains for the University of Baghdad. He is generally known for his theories on the use of flowing water in art, shared with the critic John Anthony Thwaites (1909–1981).
