Peter Rothmeier Ravn lives and works in Copenhagen.
"Men are discreetly surveyed in Peter Ravn’s paintings. By the fly on the wall or clandestinely, without disturbing them or bringing them back to the orchestrated self-perception of reality. The subjects exist in their private rooms, self-absorbed and oblivious to the fact that they are being watched. The prototype of the modern man, is the core motif in Ravn’s paintings. These men are pictured in situations where they let go of themselves and of control. They exist in an intimate and private room where nobody needs to act normal, being required only to be present in the now. They are uniform in the modern sense, dressed in what appears to be timeless suits and white shirts suggesting something very orderly and controlled, which has then lost it momentarily. To capture these pictures of the modern man’s elegies has been a lead motif for Ravn, since his relatively late debut as a painter in 2004. The modern man reveals himself occasionally, when seemingly unnoticed, in spite of the uniform and discipline. That’s where Ravn strikes. His gaze penetrates the modern man’s public facade and reaches into the private space, hiding behind the immaculate surface of the suit and testifies that the perceived order is just a delusion. That in reality there are people underneath with feelings, instincts, anxiety and aggression, traits which are normally suppressed by mutual consensus. He has a clandestine knowledge of what goes on under the surface and is capable of uncovering it. This exposure of the suffering behind the strict modernity is one of Ravn’s hallmarks."
Peter Rothmeier Ravn holds a MFA from The Royal Danish Academy (KADK) - Schools for Architecture, Design & Conservation. Prior his debut as a painter in 2004, he worked professionally in the field of graphic design, creating iconic record sleeves, music videos and fashion design. Ravn has exhibited extensively in Denmark and internationally and is represented in numerous collections.
Excerpt text from the book “ Peter Ravn ” by Merete Sanderhoff, art historian and writer.
