Peter Friedl

(b. 1960 in Oberneukirchen, Austria, lives and works in Berlin)

Peter Friedl's practice eludes unequivocal media- and style-specific attributions. A recurring element in his oeuvre is a highly specific mode of approach. Rather than showing dedication to particular topics or stylistic principles, Friedl's works, which often touch on politically charged issues follow an aesthetic strategy of "radical neutrality", as art historian Hilde Van Gelder puts it. Instead of arguing for a certain reading or interpretation of a cultural or political artefact, Friedl explores the social and media-specific conditions under which these readings, interpretations, and meanings become established. In this sense, his works are not so much theses but rather exemplary models for the renegotiation of political and historical certainties.

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Download exhibition booklet "Teatro" 2019

Peter Friedl's work has been exhibited internationally, including at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; and Hamburger Kunsthalle. He has participated in documenta X, 12, and 14 (1997, 2007, 2017); the 48th and 56th Venice Biennale (1999, 2015); the 3rd Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art (2004); Manifesta 7, Trento (2008); the 7th Gwangju Biennale (2008); the 28th Bienal de São Paulo (2008); La Triennale, Paris (2012); the Taipei Biennial (2012, 2016); the 10th Shanghai Biennale (2014); the 5th Thessaloniki Biennale (2015); the 1st Anren Biennale (2017); and Sharjah Biennial 14 (2019).

Selected solo exhibitions include OUT OF THE SHADOWS, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (2004); Work 1964–2006, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (2006), Miami Art Central (2007), Musée d’art contemporain, Marseille (2007); Blow Job, Extra City Kunsthal, Antwerp (2008); Working, Kunsthalle Basel (2008); Peter Friedl, Sala Rekalde, Bilbao (2010); The Dramatist, Artspace, Auckland, (2014); The Diaries, Grazer Kunstverein, Graz (2016); Teatro Popular, Lumiar Cité, Lisbon (2017); Teatro, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2019) and Carré d'Art - Musée d'art contemporain de Nîmes, Nîmes (2019-20); No pray, no pay, Guido Costa Projects, Turin (2021); Report 1964-2022, KW Institut for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2022).