Peter Chevalier

PETER CHEVALIER (Karlsruhe,1953)
Untitled.
Oil on wood.
Signed and dated on the back.
Measurements: 182 x 52 cm.
The first works of Chevalier are tinged with a metaphysical quality in his compositions. Semi-figurative elements (houses, planes, pillar stumps, light bulbs, bones, etc.) are deconstructed and later reassembled in disproportionate and inappropriately scaled collages. His approach, aligned with the postminimalist trend towards the rediscovery of the pictorial medium, intentionally contrasts with the then dominant conceptualist method. A Neo-Expressionist for most of his career, Chevalier borrowed the insistent dark lines of his pre-war predecessors, the vibrant colors of his American counterparts, and the futuristic motifs of his Italian neighbors, all while remaining true to the academic tradition of oil painting. In the late 1980s and early 1990s more explicitly figurative subjects appeared, more tactile and organic in nature. With the return to reality came sadness and melancholy, and the subjects and their treatment became more somber. Interestingly, Chevalier traveled back in time, borrowing methodological cues from avant-garde surrealism. This anachronistic approach is explained by Germany's proximity to the birthplace of surrealism, France, and the repression of the movement by National Socialist propaganda. From the modern movement, Chevalier has borrowed the lack of planning and the improvised and undefined strategy, which give rise to intuitive and unpredictable creations guided by the artist's subconscious. Chevalier lives and works in Berlin and Stuttgart.