PETER LOEWY
“TO THE ARTISTS”

In his book “To The Artists” (Edition Clandestin, 2023) the Frankfurt-based photographer Peter Loewy has captured intimate views into artists' studios. What began as an experience with David Hockney, this series developed into a passion for collecting, glimpsing into the working environment of 25 artists, including Jeff Koons, Pipilotti Rist, Chuck Close and Alex Katz. The book's foreword is written by the independent curator Dorothea Strauss, who will lead the discussion with the photographer.

“What had begun with the wish to hold on to an experience at David Hockney’s developed into a collector´s passion.

By now, I own a lot of photographs of artists´ studios and have to ask myself what actually have I collected and why have I done so. It is said works of art have an aura. But what makes an aura and where does it come from? Does it float in the air of the studios and lays itself on the works when they leave the room? Most probably, I wanted to get a sense of, catch, and take along some of it.

The result: A collection of aura.” – Peter Loewy

Peter Loewy was born 1951 in Israel, grew up in Tel aviv-Jaffa and lives in

Germany, Frankfurt am Main since 1956. Besides his studies for schoolteacher he was always photographing, from 1996 on professional. His photographs have been shown in divers museums and purchased from different collections. He published his series under following titles: Jüdisches, Lèche-Vitrines, Bagels, Das IG-Farben-Haus, Private Collection (all by Kehayoff), Drawings (by Allerheiligenpress), By the way (by Pagina), Ich und mein Migrationshintergrund (by Edition Faust), at least To the Artists (by Edition Clandestin).

Dorothea Strauss is an independent curator and transformation expert. She previously directed various institutions such as the Kunsthalle St. Gallen and the Kunstverein Freiburg i. Br. She then repositioned the Museum Haus Konstruktiv for eight years and developed the internationally recognized Zurich Art Prize. Strauss taught for many years at the ZHdK Zurich and set up an innovative department for social engagement, sustainability, and innovation at a company with cooperative roots. She recently curated the international exhibition 'Backstage Engelberg', which featured over 50 artists and included works by Peter Loewy. Strauss lives near Zurich.

PETER LOEWY “TO THE ARTISTS”

PETER LOEWY
“TO THE ARTISTS”