Peter Krawagna
Biography
Peter Krawagna was born in Klagenfurt in 1937. In 1953 he began studying art at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz, where he remained until 1957. From 1957 to 1961 Krawagna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna with Herbert Boeckl, and in 1963/64 he spent a year at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris.
At first glance, his pictures appear highly abstract and without any reference to reality. On closer inspection, however, one realises that it is impressions of representational situations that have caught Krawagna's eye and which he has reduced to what is essential for his way of seeing. He begins, for example, to paint the impression of the reflection of sunlight and sea on white buildings in Greece. This then becomes a bright white and blue, flanked by charcoal drawing. The frequently used black - be it in lines or areas - underlines this painterly process of reduction, whereby the black also constantly enlivens the combination with colours. It also gives the whole a drawing dimension.
In 2020, Peter Krawagna conducted an interview with the internationally renowned curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. There it came up that, ironically, abstract painting is not his primary inspiration. Instead, he is always impressed by the works of Paul Cézanne, Alberto Giacometti and Francis Bacon. Nevertheless, there is a connection to abstract painting, as Krawagna does not make any preliminary studies. The first impression is always quickly processed, followed by additional smaller works that repeat the motif. In this respect, one can say that with Krawagna the main work is created first, and then the sketch.
At first glance, his pictures appear highly abstract and without any reference to reality. On closer inspection, however, one realises that it is impressions of representational situations that have caught Krawagna's eye and which he has reduced to what is essential for his way of seeing. He begins, for example, to paint the impression of the reflection of sunlight and sea on white buildings in Greece. This then becomes a bright white and blue, flanked by charcoal drawing. The frequently used black - be it in lines or areas - underlines this painterly process of reduction, whereby the black also constantly enlivens the combination with colours. It also gives the whole a drawing dimension.
In 2020, Peter Krawagna conducted an interview with the internationally renowned curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. There it came up that, ironically, abstract painting is not his primary inspiration. Instead, he is always impressed by the works of Paul Cézanne, Alberto Giacometti and Francis Bacon. Nevertheless, there is a connection to abstract painting, as Krawagna does not make any preliminary studies. The first impression is always quickly processed, followed by additional smaller works that repeat the motif. In this respect, one can say that with Krawagna the main work is created first, and then the sketch.