Peter Piek

Peter Piek was born at the 03.04.1981 as Peter Piechaczyk in Karl-Marx-City

language therapy Karl-Marx-City

since 1992 piano, since 1995 guitar and drums

1997 first songs and pictures

2001 splitts up in several identitiy parts

2002 first rhythmic inspierd paintings

2002 till 2006 study painting / Academy of visuell Arts Leipzig

2003 joint founder of the artist group Querschlag

co-initiator of the inipendent artist initiative Malfront

2004 The Painting Book (Das Malbuch) 2005 dialogical Malfront-study

Book Puppetplayer (die Puppenspieler) 2006 reunification of all part characters too Peter Piek

attempt to paint songs

minimalistic Album 'the reunification of'

Malfront-main-study

2007 Peewee Princess Of The Dau & Deh

2008 Say Hello To Peter Piek

lives in Leipzig and Chemnitz / Germany

(most press is in german language if you want to read more check the german sites and try a website translator. thanks)

Peter Piek is the consummate artist

Peter Piek is the consummate artist. A brilliant guitarist, singer/songwriter and painter from Leipzig, Peter's work remains bold and distinct across a broad range of media. He's interested in what he calls "the moment of greeting", and the "emptiness that exists between artist and audience at that moment". In Buddhist philosophy emptiness connotes a wide range of happy meanings. These include clarity, connection, selflessness and transcendence. Peter has painted hundreds of self portraits, on canvas and on record, yet the work is somehow never self-absorbed. You get the sense, in his music and art, that he's introducing himself to you, again and again, re-invigorating the moment with a fresh connection. Peter Piek is a prolific performer and painter who keeps himself busy with constant touring in europe and america, and with the relentless creation of new art.

Cliff Rawson, New York City

Switch Your Kleenex and suede jackets.

Peter Piek is just extraordinary. He is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and painter. In 2007 he played over 100 concerts in Germany. Time for an album to prove himself in the field of popular music. Therefor he brings all necessary attributes: enduringness, dramaturgy, impulsive creativity and spontaneity. His lyrics owe a touching melancholy, without abdicating great euphoria. In many songs of 'Say hello to Peter Piek' he copes personal experiences, posivite experiences and defeats. His music shows great songwriter potential. Peter Piek is rock, is guitar, is indie. Following the motion of 60s art -from Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan or painters like Ari Fuchs or Max Pechstein- his work states in music and painting also something sketchy, an unclouded & fresh move. A startling debut, that unites rock, beat & art in an inspiring way. Switch Your Kleenex and suede jackets.

Britta Hamann, Ausfahrt MV, 11/2007

Damn great paintings!

Peter Piek is a painter. Most of his paintings depend on the situation like a continuation of nice coincidences, colour patterns and structures that are spontanuous statements which express the love of life. "Damn great paintings" as he points it. You see a garden designed by drawings and paintings with rhythmic and melodious patterns. As if someone were dancing across the screens and dares a self portrait as rockstar. It is like an image from a dream without irony, in a frank and casual manner. Hence, the characters between the colourful paintings become a provocation more than ever. This is what they are supposed to be: a stop sign that asks the observer to stop. The fifth square shows the word Spiegel, that means mirror. No it is not about the German magazine Der Spiegel. This square painting is about a mirror, where the observer shall understand himself and connect himself to the symbols of power. Perhaps, then there are some that watch the actual paintings of Peter Piek from a new perspective and get an impression of what opposes each form of power: the free expression of life.

Dr. Ina Gille, art historian, Leipzig 5/2005 (translation: PeterFischer)

what does painting mean to me?

When I talk about painting, I mean any process of creation, be it the creation of tableaux and paintings, of music or be it the process of writing.

Whenever I create something, I do paint.

As soon as I think, I realize that I don't have the faintest idea of anything.

When I paint, though, I know it all! Everything! This is the way I approach to the inaccessible.

It is the approach to something that is hidden somewhere there. When I paint, I neither think about nor contemplate it.

In other words: I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance while thinking. That's why I paint.

Peter Piek, 19 February 2006

The Reunification of Peter Piek

Due to a necessity seated sented within, the songwriter Peter Stone and the painter Peter Piechaczyk reunited under one name: Peter Piek.

A few years ago, when Peter Stone started, I had a general tendency towards a split. I had recognized myself as a being with a soul consisting of several parts and wanted to fathom this phenomenon. So, I decided to name those parts that I could make out. This happened in the year 2000. The first thing, I realised then was that everything that has an effect on the outside has an effect on the inside, too. Peter Stone increasingly gained more and more publicity. This meant a shift of perception both on the inside and outside. The works reflect inwardly. Thus, the balance of these parts of my soul was challenged. Many people merely knew either Peter Stone or Peter Piechaczyk. Consequently, I had difficulties to comprehend myself as a whole. The painter was able to free himself a little from the music then. I didn’t want to incorporate the music completely in the pictures, yet. During those days, I created static and plane pictures; pictures of a clarity that I probably will never achieve again. Peter P. desired to paint. Peter Stone desired to make music. Nothing else.

Apart from those two most important parts of my soul, there were two other parts that had managed to develop and get names: Peter Stillman and Peter Sternkopf (I just chose some names that came to my mind). “Name is name.” (quotation: Klaus Sobolewsky). Furthermore, there are ‘Primal Peter’ and ‘Murderer Peter’. Others arose during the work for the 1. “Malfrontquartester” und during the writing of ‘Das Malbuch’ [translator’s note: yet to be translated]. So, there Peter the edge (chain saw murderer) and SMPP (sevenmillionpowerpete (superhero)) came into being. Both of them are novel figures. Thus, there was a lot going on those days. I wanted to get to the bottom of this. It was thrilling anyhow and I was glad achieving this point and had invested some effort in it at the time.

Peter Stone thought differently than Peter Piechaczyk. He had different pleasures, had different friends, had a different taste, such as I am different on stage than I am at home in the studio. The more people, I discovered and tried to bare, the more difficult it became to get along with all. Surely, sometime would come the point, when the whole thing would collapse, but I never had the feeling to be ill or something. Far from it! I think that only few people can achieve this state. I saw it as a chance. You can also refuse it and then, nothing happens. You have to be very open minded towards yourself. You must be able to let it flow and should not be frightened by yourself. Many people claim to know themselves well. That’s when I think ‘Wow! How many are it in your case?’ Then you get the answer ‘No, no. You are for more than you think and would possibly guess. Believe me. And you can be even more than this.’

That is why only those few, who already have discerned someone inside of themselves. It’s quite hard to explain, as it is about emotions. If you are an actor who acts a part, what do you do? You look inside of yourself to see, if there is someone who fits the part. If you are a good actor, you’ll find him. You will not pretend to be someone else. Instead, you will be yourself. Then you try to become this person completely (what, according to my experience, you should do. However, the job necessitates this skill. In this case, you must be able handle it). All this generated a lot of complex conclusions which were suddenly incredibly simply and obvious. One example: The 1. Malfrontquartester was about a serial work of self-portraits in small format. I had paint twelve pictures; A homogenous series with an obvious tendency towards a disbanding of plain-coloured surfaces with names such as ‘Selbstportrait als Schmetterling’ (Self-Portrait as a Butterfly). I thought that would be the rough outline. Then, to be honest, I had the feeling that something was missing, though. I painted two other pictures: ‘Selbstportrait als Mörder’ (Self-Portrait as Murderer) and the last one ‘Selbstportrait als Mensch’ (Self-Portrait as man); two pictures that strongly differed from the other twelve pictures; more gesticulatory and far more uglier. There, it was paint. It hung on the wall; there it was. A man? Ok. That’s me, I thought. But am I a murderer as well? That was the question. Yet I had painted it. And yes, it’s right. That doesn’t mean that you have to be afraid of me. No, no. Apart from biting midges and sometimes an annoying fly (that is not too big and disgusting) or a snail that I accidently run over, I don’t kill anything. Nevertheless, anything that lives kills as well; always; permanently. I need space. Where I am, there can’t be anyone else. Killing is a precondition of life. After all, I need something to eat. I’m not a vegetarian. It is a lot of fun, too. Plants are living things as well. And I am hungry. And I want to live. The murderer is a part of my personality, deep inside of me. And I can tell you that you have this part somewhere inside of you, too. Anyone has it. There’s no exception. Well. Additionally, we have the aspect of the murderer within the species. This murderer’s part in my soul is the one that is the most deep-sealed. All those other ones stand above it. This means if I ever happen to be in a situation when my life is in really serious danger, when all other parts of my soul are at a loss, I know it is there – to save my life. In this context, this is not a murderer, but a part of my soul who wouldn’t rule out the consequence of murder. One example among many others.

In 2003, the first rhythmic pictures emerged; reduced, linear pictures with simple rhythm patterns; dancing with a drum track’s appearance (Pictures No. 9 – 24). This lead to a split within my painting between rhythm pictures and plane paintings (especially ‘Zwei Köpfe’ (Two Heads) and ‘Abstürze mit drei’ (Crashes in the Age of Three)); pictures having an organized structure and voice. It was difficult during this time; quite confusing. It was never a burden for me, but even though, it became a problem. The years 2003 and 2004 were the central phase of splitting. I wanted it and I was willing to unearth it, and reached a limit. It was increasingly harder to respect the single parts of my soul, as new, inexperienced parts occurred. Although I was content with the results of this period, I wanted something new. I realised that I could only achieve my goals with my works, if I add my skills up.

As I know today, I began to prepare the reunification in 2004. The resolution in perspective: the plane. It enables the unification of structure, rhythm, colour and voice. I began to write progressively picturesque songs; songs that claim to be nothing but themselves; songs about colours and gesticulatory swings. The problem was and is: the balance between the single components. My pictures are painted songs. I paint the same way I write a song.

Nonetheless, the reunification came surprisingly. And now, it is not the same as it used to be. All of them are still there. Where should they be gone, anyway? After all, I have carried off the conscience to be one. That’s it. The whole thing has also brought something like a philosophy in my mind. It says something like this: relief → reunification. So to speak: relief from the odd; relief from abuse; relief from distance; relief from burden; in painting; anywhere. Therefore, a new perspective should be possible; a new perception; a deeper sensation; a new vicinity; reunification. With what? With yourself. This is where you should begin.

Peter Piek, Leipzig, 06/02/2006