As a central figure in the history of German art in the 1950s and 60s, Brüning left an extraordinarily diverse and ground-breaking work, decisively shaping the artistic new beginning after the war. Brüning was one of the initiators, pioneers and bearers of the intellectual climate of the fifties, in which the legendary “Düsseldorf art scene” developed. Born in Düsseldorf in 1929, he held a professorship for free painting at the Düsseldorf Art Academy since 1969, and he can almost be regarded as an integrator in this scene.

Previously from 1950 to 1952 as a student with Willi Baumeister in Stuttgart and from 1952 to 1954 for study purposes in Paris, Peter Brüning became one of the most important protagonists of the German Informel in the late 1950s, not yet 30 years old, and gained international recognition. Numerous solo exhibitions at home and abroad, numerous awards and participation in the most important exhibition projects of his time [a.o., documenta II (1959), III (1964) and IV (1968)] prove this success. The topic of his extensive main work, which was accomplished in barely more than fifteen years, is the landscape, although no longer used in the conventional sense. From 1964 onwards, universal sign systems such as cartography and traffic signs gradually became part of his imagery. Pictures, installations and sculptures are created that question the reality of art and mark a radical position for this time. From today’s point of view, one can only admire the self-reliance and innovative power of this young artist. What would have been possible through this artist’s personality remains speculation alone.