Peter Friedl: Theory of Justice. 1992–2006

Peter Friedl was born in Oberneukirchen, Austria, in 1960, and currently lives and works in Berlin. Since the early nineties, he has been building up a heterogeneous body of work (photography, painting, video, drawing, text) with a strong component of social and political critique. Friedl draws attention to the conflicts between contemporary politics and aesthetic narrative. He often turns to genres (tableaux vivant, documents) and subject matter (childhood, social exclusion) that are undervalued in the modern artistic tradition, and uses displacement and overexposure to challenge accepted systems of representation. Friedl pushes the boundaries of genres and codes for purposes that are clearly critical. He is best known for the photographic works he produced in South Africa, Haiti, Brazil and other places that were the scenes of Europe’s colonial past, and for his work based on American philosopher John Rawls’ theory of justice. He has published numerous essays and critical texts on theatre and aesthetics.

Since the mid.1990s, Friedl has exhibited widely in many countries. Solo exhibitions include those held at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague (1995), Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (1998), Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin (1999), Chisenhale Gallery, London (2001), Institute for Contemporary Art, Cape Town (2002), Kunsthalle, Antwerp, and Kuntshalle Basel (2008), Grazer Kunstverein, Graz (2016), Kunsthalle Wien (2019) and KOW Gallery, Berlin (2023). He participated in Documenta 10 and 12, Kassel (1997 and 2007), and the Venice Biennale (1999), as well as many other international biennials. In 2006, MACBA hosted the retrospective Peter Friedl: Work 1964-2006, which travelled to Miami Art Central, Florida, and Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille (2007). His work is part of the collections of Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and MACBA, Barcelona.