Reassembling the Whitney Museum Shop Painting

Peter Vahlefeld's visceral artworks combine a rigorous, process-based practice, continually rethinking the possibilities of painting. The act and idea of »building« the paintings encapsulates his multi-tiered approach to each piece that unfold in an intricate, unpredictable interaction of layers and excess—a constant juggling of paint, prints, fabrics, and effect to enhance the capacity of the surface. Using references to a broad array of sources, including art history, literature, and pop culture, he creates paintings that alternate between flat experience and dimensionality. Perfectly poised between European and American traditions (Art Informel, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art), they draw their actuality from the collision between the visual codes of mass media and the subjective traces of painterly expression and combine complexity into a visual richness that is neither figurative nor abstract. Peter Vahlefeld has participated in a variety of solo exhibitions, art fairs, and venues such as Neumeister Fine Art Auctioneers (Munich), Sotheby's (Vienna), Fritz Hansen (Denmark) and Allianz Art Collection. His work can be found in private and corporate collections throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Peter Vahlefeld was featured on the German television channel ZDF, and currently works in Berlin and Munich.