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Peter Dressler

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Peter Dressler (17 September 1942 – 15 September 2013) was an Austrian photographer and academic teacher.[1]

Life and work

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Peter Dressler was born in Brașov, Romania on 17 September 1942.[2] He created his first photographic works in the 1960s. After studying painting from 1966 to 1971 at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Gustav Hessing,[3] he graduated with a diploma. Afterwards, he stayed at the academy as a teacher from 1972 to 2008, initially as a lecturer under Hessing, and from 2001 on as an assistant professor under Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Hubert Schmalix and Amelie von Wulffen.[1] Both as a teacher and as "foremost protagonist of [the] pioneering generation of auteur photographers in Austria"[4] he had a significant influence on Austrian Photography from the 1970s onwards.[5]

Dressler used photography to create staged “photo stories”,[1] his aim was "to bring to life the static picture".[6] Often he used spaces of human interaction for locations: public spaces (like "Kunsthistorisches Museum" for the series "With Great Interest", 1989), semi-public like shops and hotel rooms ("Tangible Beauty", 1992 and "Business Class", 1996) and private spaces ("Lasting Values", 1997). These locations he often found by chance.[7] He staged temporary interventions for his photographs and often performed himself - forever alone[8][9] - in front of the camera ("In unmittelbarer Nähe" [Very Close], 1997, "Tie Break", 1996, "Rather Rare Recipes", 1987, among others) or he used props for his protagonists - like the "Burschi" dog sculpture[7] ("With Great Interest, 1989) or a tin toy figure of a gymnast (in the early series "The Good Son", 1977–1983).

In early works, in the 1970s he explored the spaces of Vienna, for example in his artist's book "Zwischenspiel" [Interplay - unpublished until 1989] or his collaborations with the painter Franz Zadrazil: the book "Das Wiental" (The Vienna Valley] and the black-and-white film "Sonderfahrt".[4][10]

Dressler was buried at Mauer Cemetery (group 41, row 1, number 1) in Vienna.[11] Works by Dressler are part of the collections of Albertina,[12] Museum der Moderne Salzburg and the collection of the Austrian state, [13][14] the artistic estate is located at Fotohof archive.[15] KunstHausWien‚ presented the first posthumous retrospective of Peter Dressler's work in 2016.[5]

Solo exhibitions (selection)

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Books

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  • 2016: Vienna Gold. FOTOHOF>EDITION. includes texts by Christine Frisinghelli, Rainer Iglar, Bettina Leidl, Michael Mauracher. German /English. 30 × 24 cm, 186 Seiten appr. 170 plates. edition: 1000, ISBN 978-3-902993-41-0.
  • 2004: Eher seltene Rezepte, Rarités Culinaires, Rather Rare Recipes. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 8 pages. 16 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-36-8.
  • 2002: Business Class. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 20 pages. 29 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-27-6.
  • 2002: Greifbare Schönheit / Tangible Beauty / Beauté Tangible. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 24 pages. 13 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-25-2.
  • 2002: Tie Break. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 22 pages. 14 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-26-9.
  • 2002: Bleibende Werte / Lasting Values / Valeurs Sures. FOTOHOF>EDITION. 24 × 16 cm. 20 pages. 12 color plates, laminated cardboard, edition: 400, ISBN 978-3-901756-24-5.
  • 1989: Zwischenspiel. Karolinger Verlag. Includes an introduction by Otto Breicha. 98 pages. 90 plates, ISBN 978-3-85418-039-5.

Awards

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  • 1968: City of Salzburg Promotion Prize
  • 1989: Recognition Prize for Fine Art Photography of the Austrian Chancellery
  • 2001: Otto Breicha Award
  • 2011: Higashikawa Prize - Overseas Photographer Award
  • 2013: Austrian State Prize for Fine Art Photography

[16][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Biography Fotohof archive". fotohof.at (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  2. ^ "Fotograf Peter Dressler gestorben" [Photographer Peter Dressler Died]. derStandard.at (in German). 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  3. ^ a b "SEEING WITH YOUR EYES: THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF PETER DRESSLER 1972 – 2003". belfastexposed.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  4. ^ a b Michael Mauracher (2016). "Notes on the film "Sonderfahrt"". Vienna Gold. Salzburg: Fotohof edition. p. 153. ISBN 978-3-902993-41-0.
  5. ^ a b c "Peter Dressler, Vienna Gold, 16.11.16-05.03.17". kunsthauswien.com. 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  6. ^ "Peter Dressler: Tangible Beauty". camera-austria.at. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  7. ^ a b Roman Gerold. "Peter Dressler: Toter Dobermann, unsterblicher Terriermischling". derstandard.at.at (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  8. ^ Sabine Weier (Summer 2017). "Peter Dressler: "Wiener Gold" und "Sonderfahrt"". Springerin (in German). Vienna. p. 62. ISBN 978-3-9504191-6-0.
  9. ^ a b "Spannungsunterbrechung". KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien. 2011. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  10. ^ "Viennese Lines: Art and Urban Observation 1951-1979". filmmuseum.at. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  11. ^ "Verstorbenensuche Wien". friedhoefewien.at (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  12. ^ "Collection online". albertina. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  13. ^ "Simultan / Simultaneous. Two Collections of Austrian Photography from the Collections of the Federal Chancellery and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg". fotomuseum.ch. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  14. ^ "Simultan / Simultaneous. Two Collections of Austrian Photography from the Collections of the Federal Chancellery and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg". Urs Stahel. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  15. ^ "Nachlass Peter Dressler im FOTOHOF archiv" [Peter Dressler's Estate at Fotohof archive]. netzwerk-fotoarchive.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  16. ^ "Biography". Vienna Gold. Salzburg: Fotohof edition. 2016. p. 179. ISBN 978-3-902993-41-0.
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