Introduction
The charming location of the small town of Radebeul near Dresden, nestled between the Elbe Valley and vineyards and also known as Saxon Nice, the neighbouring Moritzburg ponds, the gentle hills of Thuringia, and trips to the Mediterranean region are all sources of inspiration for Karen Graf's paintings. The work of painter Karen Graf, created since the mid-1980s, resembles a precious treasure with its landscapes, still lifes, interiors and portraits. The viewer is presented with a quiet, introverted, often poetic and melancholic visual world that tells of everyday and remembered moments.
Karen Graf's path to painting was fraught with obstacles. After studying in the evenings from 1982 to 1985 at the Dresden Art Academy under Agathe Böttcher and Fritz Panndorf, she was denied a place to study painting in Leipzig. But alongside various jobs to earn a living, she worked unwaveringly on her artistic path.
When Karen Graf met her future husband, the painter Peter Graf, in 1988, she internalised the spirit of independence that had been preserved in his circle of friends since the 1950s. The focus was on creative counterworlds to existing social realities. Independence and determination have characterised Karen Graf's paintings from the very beginning. They are the result of her intense observation, experience and self-questioning, imbued with inner beauty, a humane spirit and an extraordinary sense of sound.
Peter Graf discovered painting at an early age. At the age of 12, he began learning drawing from Karl Michel in Zwickau. Following the early death of his father, the small family moved to Dresden in 1952. Peter Graf attended Heinz Drache's drawing course and met Jürgen Böttcher in 1953, now known by his artist name Strawalde, after his birthplace Strahwalde in Upper Lusatia. Peter Graf began studying painting in Berlin-Weißensee in 1956, but his studies ended abruptly after one year due to his critical remarks about the system. However, despite the reprisals he experienced, his time in Berlin proved to be fruitful. Risky stays in West Berlin introduced the artist to the paintings of Beckmann, Picasso, Rousseau, Manet and Cezanne, as well as the world of jazz.
Back in Dresden in 1957, the circle of friends around Peter Herrmann, Winfried Dierske, Ralf Winkler, alias A.R. Penck, Peter Makolies, Agathe and Jürgen Böttcher became the artist's refuge. At regular meetings, they discussed music, film, literature and art. Peter Graf's particular life situation distinguished him from most of his artist friends. For almost three decades, he worked hard physically in various professions, driving tractors, forklifts, lorries and tankers, and worked as a transport and warehouse worker. During this time, Peter Graf always painted after work. It was not until 1985 that he ventured into freelance artistry.
His poetically charged works thrive on their dreamlike, surreal atmosphere, their alienation and their tongue-in-cheek subtext, but also on their longing and melancholy. It is a quiet, cultivated style of painting. In addition to portraits and still lifes featuring everyday objects, Peter Graf loves allegory. Compositions developed to the point of abstraction testify to an artist whose creations never cease to surprise and who clearly derives great pleasure from painting.
