Peter Wever is a German artist, living in Berlin. Wever is known for his colour etchings dealing mainly with relationships. His work has warmth, and often a touch of humour. Embracing couples are a common theme, but sketches of a computer fanatic or two people at a cluttered breakfast table or almost submerged in a bath-tub are also among subjects he has portrayed.

“The aspects of the artistic life that are modern, lofty, engaged, contemporary, timeless or relentlessly repetitive do not thrill me. My fascination, when it comes to art, is the drama to be found in everyday things. An unspectacular life perceived through my own eyes and recorded in my own handwriting. This is what I try to capture in my work.
To achieve this takes time. I long to express a great amount with the most limited means possible. Naturally, the end result has to be interesting. I oscillate between “less is more” and “less is bore”. In this way, I can generate the tension of opposites. This can be seen literally, as in the tension between two people and the human interaction, which is born, figuratively, between them.
My characters often appear to be almost identical. As if they are simultaneous expressions of one and the same person. The simplification of form leads to an analogous bearing. By turning and mirroring the images diagonals start to appear that suggest movement. The action between the figures that comes into being through the diagonals is invisible, caught in a centre of gravity that sinks out of the picture.
I etch mechanically, without chemicals. Everything is scratched directly into the copper surface, with a dry needle, and roughened with the mezzotint “berceau”*. In this way I can draw directly onto the plate, erase things if necessary, add printing ink, wipe clean, and ultimately the image takes its form on the plate. The colours are achieved step by step with consecutive rounds of printing.”

Hesitantly and doubtfully, the artist waits for that moment when the image comes to life. When this happens, the artist has had a good day.

Peter Wever”™s coloured etchings are unique.
The basis is the coloured etching to which accents are added using acryl paints.