For the exhibition VERBUNDEN – DEN SAND AUS DEN SCHUHEN SCHÜTTELN, Peter Böhnisch has created a new group of portraits.
Working with sand, corundum and pigments on fibreboard, he develops the faces directly from the surface itself. Using his fingers, he draws into the material so that the portraits emerge through the movement of his hand. The visible traces give the works a particular physical quality and make each piece feel immediate and unique.
The works move between painting and relief. The raw, almost archaic surface of the sand stands in striking contrast to the delicacy and vulnerability of the faces.
These are portraits that are less about outward resemblance than about presence. About an expression, a state of mind, perhaps even something that appears in a face for only a brief moment.
This is precisely where the special strength of these works lies: they feel immediate and quiet at the same time, highly physical and yet detached.
The sand preserves every movement of his hand. What at first appears to be a fleeting trace becomes permanent, giving the faces an almost sculptural quality.
