Peter Halley

Low Relief UV inkjet print, on aluminium and MDF board, painted with fluorescent acrylic, 80 x 87.5 x 80 x 3 cm (31.5 x 34.4 x 1.2 in). Edition of 15 + 4 AP, signed and numbered on label verso.

Peter Halley’s edition Glossary is based on his Heterotopia installation for the 2019 Venice Biennale. The term “heterotopia”, coined by Michel Foucault, refers to spaces that exist parallel to the outside world, simultaneously reflecting and destabilizing its order. Halley takes up this concept in his visual language by depicting prisons, cells, and conduits as abstract diagrams of social regulatory mechanisms – a visual translation of the structures that extend from computer chips to urban systems.

EUR 5,000

From Forty Are Better Than One
5-part leporello, digital pigment print (Ditone) on handmade rice paper, 125 x 32 cm (49¼ x 12½ in). Edition: 75, signed and numbered.

For this edition, Peter Halley arranged five differently colored "exploding cells" next to each other. Though the "exploding cell" motif appears to contradict the structured, geometric compositions that define Halley's work in both form and content, it is a recurring element in his oeuvre. In fact, this work also references an earlier series of editions the artist published with Schellmann Art, Exploding Cell (1994), where the artist created a cartoon-style narrative of a cell undergoing various transformative states. 

EUR 1,000

Metallic acrylic on molded fiberglass, 82.5 x 91 x 5.5 cm each (32½ x 35½ x 2 in). Edition of 15, each unique in color, signed and numbered.
 

From Wall Works
Silkscreen prints in 16 different colors, pasted directly onto a wall, with optional installation of any works by Halley hung on top of the wallpaper. Wallpaper 76 x 94 cm (30 x 37 in) per sheet; Iris prints 89 x 119.5 cm (35 x 47 in); installation size according to the wall. Limited to 15 installations, all different in configuration, with a signed and numbered certificate.

For his edition Static Wallpaper as for his 1997/98 Museum of Modern Art installation, Peter Halley not only displays his works on the walls, but covers the wall(s) with wallpaper of computer-generated design. There is not a single, fixed form; these works can be realized in a number of different sizes and configurations, all of them equally valid.

EUR 15,000

Set of 9 silkscreens on museum board, each print 93 x 120 cm (36.5 x 48.25 in). Edition of 32, each signed and numbered.

In the edition Exploding Cell, Peter Halley continues his exploration of his iconic cell and prison motifs, which he first developed in the 1980s. In this series, created in 1994, Halley unfolds a sequential visual language reminiscent of comic book narratives: the cell undergoes various states – from its initial confinement to explosion and ultimately to its complete disintegration.

Two silkscreens on rag paper, 101.5 x 141 cm (40 x 55½ in) each, signed and numbered each. Edition of 50.

This edition is based on two monumental canvases Peter Halley had painted that left a lasting impression on Jörg Schellmann during a studio visit. Schellmann asked the artist whether he would use these motifs for two prints – an idea Halley fortunately considered excellent. The works were printed in up to 14 colors, layered in multiple passes, allowing the artist to achieve the desired modulation of grey tones.

Wall drawing in latex paint with silkscreen, to be executed according to the artist's instructions and color samples. Limited to 10 installations (+ 2 AP), with a signed and numbered certificate. 

This edition was Peter Halley's first contribution to Schellmann Art's group project Wall Works. He later created a second wall work, Static Wallpaper (1998). Both are now part of the permanent collection of the Neue Nationalgerie in Berlin. 

Set of 3 silkscreen/lithographs on rag paper, 66 x 96.5 cm (26 x 38 in). Edition of 50, each signed and numbered.

Peter Halley’s compositions, like the ones present in this edition, are more than geometric abstractions. His cells and conduits – recurring motifs throughout the artist’s oeuvre – represent the diagrammatic, regulatory structures of modern social life. They give visual form to the organizational systems we encounter everywhere, from computer chips and corporations to buildings and airports.

Set of 5 relief etchings on Japanese paper, 40.5 x 51 cm (16 x 20 in). Edition of 50 + XII A.P., each signed and numbered.

With the title of this edition, Peter Halley refers to Robert Smithson's A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic, a conceptual piece from 1967 that reimagines the urban landscape of Passaic, New Jersey, as a site of monumental significance. In his accompanying essay, Smithson presents photographs of mundane industrial sites, such as a water tower and a factory, elevating them to the status of monumental artifacts. This approach challenges traditional notions of grandeur and permanence associated with monuments, suggesting that the everyday, often overlooked elements of the environment possess their own inherent significance. Both Halley and Smithson critique the way modern life is shaped by systems, whether through physical infrastructure (Smithson's industrial structures) or abstract, organizational frameworks (Halley's diagrams). While Smithson emphasizes the overlooked monumental significance in everyday objects, Halley focuses on the underlying structures of control and power that permeate our environment. Both invite us to reflect on the deeper, often hidden, forces shaping the world around us.