PETER ELSNER
 Inner landscapes of the golden Madonna
September 18 – October 25, 2026

 Inner landscapes of the golden Madonna, an exhibition of photographic works by German-born artist Peter Elsner. Elsner approaches art as a form of research to “penetrate deeper into the different levels of nature and spirit,” making the invisible visible. His multimedia practice, which includes photography, performance, digital art, and installation, centers on transformation and metamorphosis.

“For me, creative activity in the field of art was always like [being] on a sailboat that connected me to different directions of inner and outer being,” Elsner writes. He finds that art can be created out of three different consciousness levels. The first is the creation of art “out of the nothing, out of the pure doing, out of the night.” In this state, there is no predetermined idea; “only the hand and the eye are acting out of pure intuition.” Each image that emerges is a surprise.

The second level begins with feeling, and following the direction or theme towards which the feeling is moving. Through contemplation, the feeling gradually enters the realization process and begins to take shape as an image.

The third level is creating work from a clear concept. “Awareness and thinking in relation to the feeling are deeply involved to find the right structure and order of the picture.” Together, these three approaches describe Elsner’s understanding of artistic creation as an ongoing process of research.

Elsner studied visual arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Braunschweig (1980), and transformation and metamorphosis at the Goethean Studies Center in Vienna (1989).From 1990-1997 he taught drawing, painting, and modeling at the Goethean Studies Center in Vienna, and from 1998-2022 he was a lecturer and teacher at Snellman-korkeakoulu in Helsinki.

Elsner’s research into metamorphosis has resulted in both artworks and publications. His books include Metamorphosis in Nature and Art, published by Hawthorn Press in 2013, HOMO LUDENS (2021), and Grundlagen zur Metamorphosengestaltung (2010 and 2025). His work continues to investigate transformation as both an artistic process and a fundamental principle of nature.

For Elsner, sustained inquiry has given art a deeper purpose. “It gave my existence a meaning and became in all the loneliness and struggle of life a healthy balancing force to experience freedom and beauty in the world of imagination.” Inner landscapes of the golden Madonna invites viewers into the territory between the visible and invisible. The works reflect Elsner’s belief that art can penetrate more deeply into the layers of experience and open a space in which nature, spirit, imagination, and consciousness can meet.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

  • Fri, October 16 at 4:30pm: artist talk with Peter Elsner (hybrid online/in-person)

  • Fri, October 23 at 7pm: lecture on Metamorphosis in Nature and Art by Peter Elsner (hybrid online/in-person)

 

This exhibition is curated by Finnish artist Sampsa Pirtola and presented in collaboration with Rudolf Steiner Library (www.rudolfsteinerlibrary.org).