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Peter Keil Paintings

German, b. 1942

In the beginnings of his artistic career, Peter Keil's style was influenced by German Expressionism. In the paintings from his early Berlin years, he mainly focused on typical big city settings and characters on the fringes of society. However, his style changed visibly at the beginning of the 60s when he lived in Paris for a while and emerged in the city's nightlife.

Keil increasingly parted with his realistic approach and developed a new, much more spontaneous and dynamic painting style which he developed further during his years in London and finally during his time as one of the "Berliner Neue Wilden" at the beginning of the 80s. Since then, the use of intensive to lurid colors and the absence of realistic representation have become characteristic of his painting style.

In Keil's paintings, the color is applied with quick brushstrokes and occasionally with impasto techniques and the images are additionally abstracted by the use of graffiti elements. He prefers to paint human figures, portraits, big city scenes, landscapes and still-life images of flowers. His emotional way of painting is mainly driven by a desire for freedom from social constraints and conventions. In the past 50 years, Keil has created numerous large- and small-scale paintings in oil and mixed media on canvas but also some sculptures in wood and steel and a great number of majolicas.

Find original Peter Keil art on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Peter Keil
Peter Keil Expressionist Oil on Canvas Portrait 'Abstract Face'
By Peter Keil
Located in New York, NY
A framed expressionist oil portrait titled 'Abstract Face', made by Peter Robert Keil (b. 1942) in 1969. The piece is from the artists personal collection. In good vintage condition.
Category

1960s Spanish Expressionist Vintage Peter Keil Paintings

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Peter Robert Keil was born to an artist blacksmith father whom he lost very early in his childhood during the Second World War. During the end phase of the war, Keil's mother, also an artistically talented woman, took her son and struggled her way to West Berlin...
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Peter Robert Keil was born to an artist blacksmith father whom he lost very early in his childhood during the Second World War. During the end phase of the war, Keil's mother, also an artistically talented woman, took her son and struggled her way to West Berlin where they settled. This is where Peter Robert Keil grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Berlin-Wedding and where he discovered his interest in painting – particularly in expressionistic artists and in Pablo Picasso's work. From 1954 on, the East Berlin-based painter Otto Nagel became his mentor and taught him first craft skills and painting techniques. In 1954, he began his traineeship as an artist metal worker and between 1959 and 1961, he studied at the University of Arts in Berlin. When the Berlin Wall was built, he lost contact with his mentor Otto Nagel and from the early 60s on, Keil started to spend more and more time abroad. During his studies at the University of Arts in Berlin, he came in contact with numerous other artists who later became influential artists of their generation, like for example Georg Baselitz, Eugen Schönebeck, Markus Lüpertz and Joachim Schmettau. During his time in Mallorca, he also met with Joan Miró in his studio several times. From the early 60s on, Keil established studios in Paris, London, Berlin and in the US. Today he mainly lives and works in Zimmerau (Bavaria, Germany), Berlin and Los Angeles. This painting is painted on newspaper. It was painted in Palma Mallorca...
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A very cool original expressionist portrait by German artist Peter Keil, circa 1984. The painting is signed and dated on the reverse "The Clown - Andy Warhol, Peter Keil, Berlin '84"...
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Painting by Peter Keil, C 1970, Signed, Acrylic on Board, Germany, No Frame
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Peter Keil paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Peter Keil paintings are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of plastic and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Peter Keil paintings, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original paintings by Peter Keil were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. Prices for Peter Keil paintings can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $850 and can go as high as $5,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,850.

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