Peter KLASEN
1935, Germany

Peter Klasen was born in Lübeck in 1935. He began to draw and paint even as a child, encouraged in these first artistic strivings by his grandfather, an art and antiques dealer. His time at the Berlin Academy of Arts in post-war Germany proved a turning point as he was inspired to begin painting in an avant-garde style. Around the same time he met Georg Bazelitz, known for his Neo-Impressionistic works. In the early 1960s, Klasen moved to Paris. His first years were tough – poverty and the lack of an understanding audience plagued him. His breakthrough was not to come until the 1970s. He had his first exhibition in Sweden in 1988 at Galleri GKM Siwert Bergström in Malmö.
Exhibitions have been staged in Frankfurt, Milan, Los Angeles and Barcelona to celebrate Peter Klasen’s 70th birthday. This coming autumn some of his works can be seen at La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.

Source: http://www.gkm.se/klasen/index1.htm