Comparisons of Peter Etzer`s earlier work from 1990 or 1991 with paintings created in the past few month demonstrate the evolution of his technique, the enhanced expressiveness of his artistic language. Etzer`s pointillist style has increased in resolution, therby intensifying the brilliant coloration of his motifs, which literally seam to vibrate with light.
Etzer`s use of space in his work is becoming more obvious. He uses even application of color to move objects – bushes, trees and still life arrangements – upwards. The interplay of dark and light colors in the back- and foreground suggests volume. Etzer combines spaces to create the illusion of discovering the painting “layer by layer”, resulting in spaces full of tension (“By the Lake”, p.X. is an obvious example.)
The artist continues to apply paint almost three-dimensionally. His motifs have not remained quite the same, however. The artist no longer focuses as exclusively on bucolic scenes. Instead, nature in general is used to convey his artistic “Weltanschauung”. His message has remained the same, however. Reaffirmation and joy of life dominate Etzer`s paintings, not expressed as blind, unconditional happiness, but rather comparable to the knowledge that there is a saftey net below the tightrope we are balancing on …
Rudolf Maegle
Gallery Maegle – Palais Harrach, Vienna, October 2002
Just as a composer chosses his notes and phrasing to create his musical composition Peter A. Etzer chooses his colors and brush strokes to create his artistic composition.
People are drawn to the painting of Peter A. Etzer (PAE) because they have a warm, optimistic ambience and are pleasing to the eye. All of his paintings are based on real places in Austria, wich even thoug most people in the United States have never seen, nevertheless seem familiar and comforting. His glowing, yellow fields of Raps in the Wachau remind Californians of the mustard flowers on the floor of the vineyards in Napa Valley.
In contrast to his realist scenes of landscapes, Etzer`s paintings of springtime blossoms or falling leaves in autumn are almost abstract compositions of colors nearly filling the entire canvas. His choice of of color and its placement is not random – there is order and harmony without the slightest hint of dissonance. His blooms burst forth with a dulge of color like the strong, forceful staccato notes from Stravinski`s Rite of Spring.
Other paintings have the gentle feeling of a Strauss waltz. Etzer is able to capture the sunbeams bouncing off the gentle waves created by the afternoon breeze blowing across the lake at Zell am See. The blues of the sky and water create an atmosphere that is calm and restful even for the most stressed viewer.
Although Etzer is best known for his landscapes, his still lifes of floral arrangements have a quality of a gift that never fades.
Peter A. Etzer is sentimental. He revisits his favorite areas to secure his inspiration for his new paintings. Very few people know that he was born with the name of Peter Apolonius da Rin, a close relative of the American swooner of the late 1950`s Bobby Darin. Perhaps listening to Bobby sing Dream Lover reminds us a remote way of Peter`s paintings remind himself of important places and things he cannot forget.
David Himmelberger
Gallery Europa; Palo Alto, California