Peter Dressler (17 September 1942 – 15 September 2013) was an Austrian

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and academic teacher.

Life and work

Peter Dressler was born in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

on 17 September 1942. He created his first photographic works in the 1960s. After studying painting from 1966 to 1971 at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

under Gustav Hessing, he graduated with a diploma. Afterwards, he stayed at the academy as a teacher from 1972 to 2008, initially as a lecturer under Hessing, and from 2001 on as an assistant professor under

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

, Hubert Schmalix and Amelie von Wulffen. Both as a teacher and as "foremost protagonist of hepioneering generation of auteur photographers in Austria" he had a significant influence on Austrian Photography from the 1970s onwards. Dressler used photography to create staged “photo stories”, his aim was "to bring to life the static picture". Often he used spaces of human interaction for locations: public spaces (like "

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

" for the series "With Great Interest", 1989), semi-public like shops and hotel rooms ("Tangible Beauty", 1992 and "Business Class", 1996) and private spaces ("Lasting Values", 1997). These locations he often found by chance. He staged temporary interventions for his photographs and often performed himself - forever alone - in front of the camera ("In unmittelbarer Nähe" ery Close 1997, "Tie Break", 1996, "Rather Rare Recipes", 1987, among others) or he used props for his protagonists - like the "Burschi" dog sculpture ("With Great Interest, 1989) or a tin toy figure of a gymnast (in the early series "The Good Son", 1977–1983). In early works, in the 1970s he explored the spaces of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, for example in his artist's book "Zwischenspiel" nterplay - unpublished until 1989or his collaborations with the painter Franz Zadrazil: the book "Das Wiental" (The Vienna Valley] and the black-and-white film "Sonderfahrt". Dressler was buried at Mauer Cemetery (group 41, row 1, number 1) in Vienna. Works by Dressler are part of the collections of

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

Museum der Moderne Salzburg The Museum der Moderne Salzburg has two buildings at two different locations in Salzburg, Austria. The Rupertinum in the old town for new artistic concepts opened in 1983 and the Museum on the Mönchsberg for modern art in a contemporary setting op ...

and the collection of the Austrian state, the artistic estate is located at Fotohof archive.

KunstHausWien The KunstHausWien is a museum in Vienna, designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. This museum in the Landstraße district houses the world's only permanent exhibition of Hundertwasser's works, and also hosts regular temporary exhibiti ...

‚ presented the first posthumous retrospective of Peter Dressler's work in 2016.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

* 1983: ''Peter Dressler'', Forum Stadtpark, Graz * 1986: ''Mit großem Interesse'', Galerie Johannes Faber, Vienna * 1989: ''Zwischenspiel'',

Fotohof Fotohof is a Salzburg-based non-commercial gallery and publishing company specialising in contemporary fine art photography. Its sponsoring body is the Association for the Promotion of Auteur Photography, founded in 1981. FOTOHOF ''gallery'' ...

, Salzburg * 1990: ''With Great Interest'', Westpac Gallery, Melbourne * 2002: ''Tie Break'', Fotohof, Salzburg * 2003: ''In unmittelbarer Nähe'',

* 2006: ''Greifbare Schönheit'', Camera Austria at

Kunsthaus Graz The Kunsthaus Graz, Grazer Kunsthaus, or Graz Art Museum was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2003 and has since become an architectural landmark in Graz, Austria. Its exhibition program specializes in contemporary ...

* 2010: ''Spannungsunterbrechung'', KÖR Window at Kunsthalle Wien public space karlsplatz * 2013: Galerie Eboran, Salzburg * 2016: Retrospective at

, Vienna

Books

* 2016: ''Vienna Gold''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. includes texts by Christine Frisinghelli, Rainer Iglar, Bettina Leidl, Michael Mauracher. German /English. 30 × 24 cm, 186 Seiten appr. 170 plates. edition: 1000, ISBN 978-3-902993-41-0. * 2004: ''Eher seltene Rezepte, Rarités Culinaires, Rather Rare Recipes''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 8 pages. 16 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-36-8. * 2002: ''Business Class''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 20 pages. 29 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-27-6. * 2002: ''Greifbare Schönheit / Tangible Beauty / Beauté Tangible''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 24 pages. 13 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-25-2. * 2002: ''Tie Break''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 22 pages. 14 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-26-9. * 2002: ''Bleibende Werte / Lasting Values / Valeurs Sures''. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 20 pages. 12 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-24-5. * 1989: ''Zwischenspiel''. Karolinger Verlag. Includes an introduction by Otto Breicha. 98 pages. 90 plates, ISBN 978-3-85418-039-5.

Awards

* 1968: City of Salzburg Promotion Prize * 1989: Recognition Prize for Fine Art Photography of the Austrian Chancellery * 2001: Otto Breicha Award * 2011:

Higashikawa Prize The has been awarded to photographers by the "Phototown" of Higashikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan since 1985. The Overseas and Domestic Photographer prizes are of 500,000 yen and the New Photographer and Special prizes are of 300,000 yen. The work of t ...

- Overseas Photographer Award * 2013: Austrian State Prize for Fine Art Photography

References

External links

Works of Peter Dressler at Fotohof Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dressler, Peter 1942 births 2013 deaths People from Brașov 21st-century Austrian artists 21st-century Austrian photographers