Peter Piller (1968) - Regoinales Leuchten

Peter Piller (1968), Regional Lights, Peter Piller Archive, 2005.

10 Postcards in a small folder from the Peter Piller Archive, each 11 x 15 cm, Edition Griffelkunst. Signed.

Peter Piller (born 5 January 1968 in Fritzlar, Germany) is an internationally established German artist, photographer and conceptual image archivist who lives and works in Hamburg. Piller became known through his Peter Piller Archive, an extensive collection of over 7,000 found images from newspapers, aerial photo archives, historical postcards and the Internet, which he carefully thematically organizes and assembles into series. This archival work forms the core of his artistic practice and is characterized by unusual image associations, subtle irony, and a systematic engagement with visual mass communication.

Piller studied Fine Arts, Art Education, German Studies and Geography at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts (Diploma 2000) and already during his studies began building image archives. His works have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions at major museums and galleries, including the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, as well as international venues in New York and Basel.

Since 2006 Piller has taught as Professor of Photography in the field of contemporary art at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig) and since 2018 has led the Class for Fine Art at the Düsseldorf University of the Arts. He has been awarded several art prizes and serves as a juror for the Vonovia Award for Photography.

Piller’s work crosses traditional boundaries between photography, archiving and conceptual art and critically reflects on the role of images in everyday culture.