Peter Klasen

Peter Klasen (1935, Lübeck, Holstein, Germany) studied at the Universität der Kunst in Berlin, Germany (1956-59). In 1959, he was the winner of the German Industry Patronage prize, he obtained a scholarship and moved to Paris, France. In the 1960’s, Kasen was one of the founders of the artistic movement New Figurationor Narrative Figuration. In 1964, he participated in the Daily Mythologies exhibition, that reunited 34 artists of the Narrative Figuration movement, at the Modern Art Museum of the city of Paris. Part of this group of 34 authors, are Erró (1932, Ólafsvik, Iceland), Bernard Rancillac (1931, Paris) and Valerio Adami (1935, Bologna, Italy).

Klasen developed his own visual language, exploring the urban atmosphere and the industrial aesthetic, which has deeply marked his work. The experimental character of his work has led the artist to use various techniques and materials such as airbrush and he fixed neon objects and lights in large-scale prints. In Klasen’s paintings, we find as reference for industrial aesthetic industrial machines and parts, gears, locks, parts of naked feminine bodies. In the 1980’s he used photography to reproduce in canvas the graffiti inscribed in the Berlin Wall.

His work has been shown in numerous galleries and museums, among which: Fondation Monticelli, Marseille, France (2010); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba (2008); Centre d’Art Contemporain, Meymac, France (2006); Óscar Niemayer Museum, Curitiba, Brazil (2006); Musée Paul Valéry, Sète, France (2002); Kunstamt Wedding, Berlin, Germany (1986); Centre d’Arts Plastiques, Angoulême, France (1985); Musée d’Art Contemporain, Dunkerque, France (1984); Centre Culturel Le Parvis, Tarbes, France (1982); Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture, Grenoble, France (1978); Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany (1974); Palais de Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium (1972); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1971).

 

PS, December 2020