C.O. Paeffgen, Untitled

C.O. Paeffgen, born in 1933 in Germany, is a renowned artist celebrated for his multifaceted practice, which encompasses painting, sculpture, printmaking and installation. Paeffgen initially gained recognition not for his paintings, but for his renowned “wrappings.” These works involved wrapping seemingly random found objects with wire. In 1987, during an exhibition in Baden-Baden, the artist revealed that his motivation for these unique and highly acclaimed artworks, which he often continued to work on for extended periods, stemmed from a deep-rooted mistrust of anything conventional. This skepticism, combined with a sharp sense of humor, likely served as inspiration for many of his irony-laden creations. In addition to his wrappings, C.O. Paeffgen developed another distinct body of work known as “outlines.” Often using newspaper images as a starting point, he would trace their contours with a pen, modifying and commenting on the depicted subjects according to his own perspective. C.O. Paeffgen himself never attached any special importance to his art. “Anyone could do what I do,” he casually used to say when the praise from critics became too high. However, the creative imagination that distinguished C.O. Paeffgen‘s work would probably not have been inherent in everyone who attempted similar endeavors. When the artist leafed through newspapers and magazines, advertising brochures, and pornographic magazines, he found ideas and inspiration for artworks on their often overloaded colorful pages that few others could have brought to fruition. In addition to his exploration of found objects, Paeffgen fearlessly delves into controversial subject matter. He fearlessly criticizes the Catholic Church through venomous caricatures and frequently incorporates phalluses and vaginas as recurring motifs, which provide a distinct narrative thread throughout his body of work.

C.O. Paeffgen, Untitled