Peter Robert Keil (German, born 1942)
Peter Robert Keil is one of the leading figures in the early German Neo-Expressionist movement. Keil moved from Poland to Germany as a young boy, following the death of his father. He is best known for his dynamic use of vibrant colors, harmonius forms and vigorous lines. As a child he was intrigued by the work of Pablo Picasso, and his playful images and bright colors which offered an escape from the bleakness of daily life in post-war West Berlin. He began studying art with Otto Nager when he was fifteen years old, and went on to Berlin’s Akademie fur Bildende Kunste. During the late 1950s, Keil befriended Joan Mira and often visited him at his studio in Mallorca. He adopted elements of Mira’s painting into his work, in particular the rhythmic compositions, use of bright primary colors, and departure from realism.
Keil later set up a studio in Paris, where he embraced the Bohemian lifestyle and created images that reflected the coarseness of everyday life; his models were often those he encountered at night on the Parisian streets; prostitutes, drunks, and thieves. Keil’s theatrical figures are complemented by dynamic compositions in which he uses vibrant, often discordant, colors, harmonious forms, and vigorous lines.
Information courtesy of Skinner, Inc., May and September 2007.