The Artistic Practice of Peer Gessing
Peer Gessing is a German painter, artist, and teacher. His diverse body of work encompasses painting, objects, installations, and performances. A central element of his creative process is the technique of overpainting, a practice he has explored since 1986 when he began working with book overpaintings. This method serves as an "aesthetic intervention" where he layers new content over existing substrates, such as magazines, books, advertisements, or three-dimensional objects like televisions, furniture, and motor blocks. In these works, a portion of the original painted surface remains visible, creating a state between destruction and preservation.
His subject matter often focuses on the motif of the face, which appears in his works either individually or in series. These faces are constructed with bold, street art-style brushstrokes, emphasizing outlines, eyes, noses, and mouths while leaving ears and eyebrows only suggested. Through the serial repetition of these heads, Gessing seeks to create a sense of direct liveliness and a rhythmic quality in his imagery.
Themes and Professional Life
Gessing’s work also explores the concept of "defunctionalism," a process where he intervenes with objects—particularly automobiles—to temporarily strip them of their function. By doing so, he transforms these machines into hybrid entities between machine and human. His artistic interests extend to the re-working of both historical masterpieces and the works of contemporary colleagues.
Born in Zehlendorf, Germany, Gessing studied at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildende Künste Stuttgart. His professional journey has included roles in Biberach an der Riß, Nord-Baden, and The Hague. Since 2010, he has lived and worked in Baden-Baden, where he serves as a teacher of fine arts at the Richard-Wagner-Gymnasium.
Questions & Answers
Where is Peer Gessing from?
Peer Gessing was born in Germany.
How many artworks by Peer Gessing are available to browse?
You can browse 1 artwork by Peer Gessing on the All Artworks page.
Where are Peer Gessing's artworks organized by color?
The Spectral Index of Peer Gessing is a page that organizes the artist's artworks by their colors.
Can I study Peer Gessing's use of color across all works?
The Palette Genome of Peer Gessing is a page that presents the color profile of the artist's body of work.
