Opening: Ralf Peters - SWEETS and PARADISE

Name: Opening: Ralf Peters - SWEETS and PARADISE
Start: 2025-09-05T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Niddastrasse 84, 60329 Frankfurt, Germany

Schedule

Fri, 05 Sep, 2025 at 06:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Niddastrasse 84, 60329 Frankfurt, Germany | Frankfurt, HE

The Bernhard Knaus Fine Art Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition "SWEETS and PARADISE" featuring new photographic works by Ralf Peters, on view from 6 September to 22 November 2025. We warmly invite you to join us for the opening on 5 September, held to celebrate the start of the gallery season in Frankfurt as part of the Frankfurt Art Experience.
Ralf Peters is considered one of the most important representatives of conceptual photography in Germany. In his work, he stages everyday objects, places, and landscapes in a new and often disconcerting light. By reducing the subjects to their essentials and digitally altering them, Peters creates abstracted images that push the boundaries between reality and staged construction. His work challenges viewers to question what they see and to critically reflect on their own perception.
The exhibition brings together two recent series that explore themes of the paradisiacal and the perception of reality in different ways.
In the SWEETS series, Peters draws focus to seemingly inconspicuous elements of nature—such as branches, leaves, and foliage—presenting them against vibrant, often blue-toned backgrounds. Through digital enhancement, these natural forms are transformed into visual fields that oscillate between authentic depiction and artificial invention, prompting reflection on the nature of photographic truth.
The Paradise series extends this dialogue by incorporating AI-generated imagery. Here, Peters constructs visionary gardens and architectural forms inspired by religious and cultural notions of paradise. These evocative compositions tap into universal human yearnings for peace, harmony, and bliss—while simultaneously raising questions about the desirability and implications of a digitally perfected utopia.
The exhibition title "SWEETS and PARADISE" points to the ambivalence between natural beauty and digital perfection. The two series are placed in a thought-provoking dialogue, inviting viewers to reflect on their own perception and the role of digital media in contemporary photography.
With its ongoing focus on contemporary photography, drawing, and painting, Bernhard Knaus Fine Art continues its commitment to presenting artistic perspectives that grapple with essential questions of perception and experience in the present day.
Ralf Peters lives and works near Hamburg, Germany. He studied at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig, the École des Beaux Arts in Nîmes, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Since the late 1990s, he has dedicated himself to photography and digital image composition. His works have been exhibited internationally and widely published.
Opening hours for the Frankfurt Gallery Weekend:
Friday, 5 September, from 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, 6 September, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, 7 September, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.