Vita
Dr. Peter Schütt, a renowned German writer and art critic, once said, “Painting is poetry with colors.” This perfectly describes Peter Backhaus. The abstract painter navigates the vast sea of colors, exploring hidden depths and reefs. His works evoke the spray of fast ships. They remind me of the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, who wrote ”Ostseen” (Baltic Seas).

History
Born in Germany in 1947, Backhaus moved to Sweden in 1968. There, he studied philosophy, psychology, and art. In Gothenburg, he became an associate professor of art and ran his own art school. He now lives and works in Gothenburg and Berlin.

Intention
For Backhaus, painting is a way to survive. Exploring his creativity helps maintain his mental health. His paintings are internal images from a realm beyond time and space, where stillness and chaos coexist. They represent layers within everyone, regardless of culture or color.

Backhaus’s art spreads optimism about the human psyche’s capacity for change. It has aided him in processing his German history. His 1996 exhibition, “Unwanted Lives,” was his final reckoning with Nazi Germany and was displayed in various Swedish museums. This experience liberated him from the past, marking the end of his mourning. Now, his inspiration stems from inner joy, avoiding common sentimentality.

Work
He works spontaneously, aiming to stay in the present, in emptiness without meaning. Each viewer interprets his work through their own lens, recalling personal memories when faced with his vibrant, dripping paint. To him, it’s simply color and energy, embodying freedom, growth, feeling, decision-making, ecstasy, meditation, and introspection.

Backhaus always seeks to start fresh. He believes, “No matter how long you have practiced, you are always a beginner.” Despite this mindset, after nearly fifty years of painting, he acknowledges the experience he can’t ignore when beginning anew.

Exhibitions
His work has been featured in various Swedish and German galleries and museums. Since 2019, he has been represented by Pashmin Art Consortia internationally and has participated in many exhibitions in China. In October 2021, he took part in the Florence Biennale. In 2022, his new series were shown at the Art Archive Museum in Beijing and at Art Fair Beijing. A book about his life and art is also planned.