Peter Nitsch

Peter Nitsch was born and raised in the Upper Palatinate, in eastern Bavaria. He received his BA in communication design from the Department of Design at the Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS).

Portrait Peter Nitsch

Nitsch's narratives of people in dialogue with life, influenced by his no-man's-land childhood in the Upper Palatinate and the German skater scene of the late 1980s, observe individual and collective identities through a bright, clean vision—he uses social context and the (urban) landscape to explore these identities in relation to cultural and intercultural realities.

Nitsch published his first monograph Bangkok – Urban Identities in 2006. He is the recipient of numerous awards, both as designer (New York Festival and BDA, among others) and photographer (Los Angeles International Photography Award and Hasselblad Masters semifinalist, among others). He was cofounder of Europe’s first crossover skate- and snowboard magazine, Playboard, and the corporate design studio RUPA.

In 2020, Nitsch became a lifetime member of the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand.

Quotes

"I tend to see this group of works as ‘documentary’ in a unique sense of the word. We tend to think of ‘documentary’ as something like a ‚capture‘ that is highly instructive and explanatory, but I see Nitsch’s use of the ‚documentary’ as something far more Baudelaire-like, a split second in time that lends our eye something prior to narrative meaning and description/definition." – Gregory Galligan, Director Thai Art Archives

"Far from the traffic jams and the go-go bars, Nitsch takes us into the front rooms of the eight million ordinary Thais who are the real Bangkok: busy, chaotic-looking, organised by an impenetrable idiosyncrasyand unashamedly human." – John Burdett, Author

"A distinctive and raw portrait of contemporary Bangkok and its inhabitants that remains as complicated as inscrutable. Like Tango, Bangkok has influences from many countries. This photographic documentary concept explores the question of identity, and the boundaries between growth and angst – a finite attempt at conceiving of the inconceivability, that is life." – Reto F. Brunner, Curator photoMÜNCHEN

Works of Photography

Tango in The Big Mango – a Baudelaire-like photo imagination about Bangkok, working at a ground zero of now-ness.

What happens when street photography, conceptual art, and documentation are combined? The result is a unique, multifaceted panorama of images, whose versatility allows it to capture the sometimes abysmal, sometimes dazzling multiple facets of Bangkok. The photographer Peter Nitsch has captured the streets, people, and life in the capital of Thailand with his sensitive feel for the right moment and the special detail. This illustrated book turns readers into companions on his visual tour of discovery. Nitsch’s camera makes us see the city’s rhythm as a tango, which owes its idiosyncratic movement to the interaction of different cultures. A comparison that not only rhymes with “mango” (Bangkok’s nickname) but also translates the sweet and sour taste of the fruit into visual intoxication. Published by Hatje Cantz, ISBN 978-3-7757-4824-7

SHOPHOUSES - 4 x 8 m Bangkok
The city as a living space, and that with its related concept of urbanism as a social phenomenon that according to Louis Wirth describes the rationalised lifestyle of urban people in comparison to the provinciality of rural inhabitants, is among the great themes of contemporary photography. Barely uttered, the "magic word" creates in our minds large pictures in which develop the technological aesthetic of urban-building excesses in globalised mega-cities. What we often forget in this respect is a second dimension of urbanism, which embraces the coexistence of various types of people, each with their own identity, in a limited living space. With his SHOPHOUSES – 4 x 8 m Bangkok series of works, Nitsch focuses precisely on this dimension.

Beyond the skyscrapers and neon signs, which also increasingly oust the traditional cityscape of Bangkok, the photographer-artist, who was born in Germany in 1973, grants us an intimate view of the retail businesses that are typical of Southeast Asia and the lives of their owners. For many of them the mostly two-storey shop, that on the lower level is open to the street, is workplace and living space in one. Thus Nitsch's photographs condense entire lifestyles in cramped surrounding that are often crammed full to the last centimetre and nevertheless radiate an almost meditative peace.

This peace is surprising because, as noted by Roman Rahmacher, himself an authority on Asia and picture editor with Gruner + Jahr, it is "diametrically opposed to the Bangkok that I have previously been aware of." And it is a fact that for European eyes it is only a bewildering confusion at first glance. But if one allows the pictures to make an impression, a fractal pattern with a high degree of similarity is to be gradually recognised in the overfilled rooms, which from the sheer number of objects suddenly makes a structured Mandelbrot set. The chaos becomes a cosmos and thus transforms into its opposite: an orderliness, to which the photographs additionally lend their characteristic power of peace.

Bangkok - Urban Identities
Bangkok, mega-city, economic metropolis and city of 400 temples, can be both fascinating and sometimes nauseating at the same time: loud, dirty and chaotic, then again, there is also a peaceful and reserved side. The illustrated book at hand displays the »Venice of the East« in its contradictory beauty, without over-romanticising the city. Authentic, surprising and bursting with emotion. Published by Rupa Media, Text by Jochen Müssig. ISBN 978-3-9809430-7-9. 35.90 €.

Collections

Peter Nitsch's work can be found in the following collections
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
Municipal Museum, Munich
German Embassy, Bangkok
BACC - Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre
Thai Art Archives, Bangkok
AAA Archive (Asia Art Archive Collection)

Private collections
Germany, France, England, Thailand

Awards

2020

COLOR AWARDS, 2 Nominations in professional categories Fashion (1) and Portrait (1)

2019
COLOR AWARDS, 4 Nominations in professional categories Fashion (1), People (2) and Portrait (1)

2018
PREMIO ENIT by ITALIEN TOURIST BOARD
BAEDEKER (Design relaunch) winner best series travel guide Italy

2012
PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERS CUP, Nominee in professional category Still Life

2011
PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERS CUP, Nominee in professional categories Portrait and Still Life
IF AWARDS, WORLD TRIP GOODIES, International Communication Design Award, Design and Publishing

2009
IPA, INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, SHOPHOUSES, 2 Honorable Mention

2008
IPA, INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, BANGKOK, 3rd place in Book in professional category
GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD, BANGKOK, Nominee
HASSELBLAD MASTERS, BANGKOK, Semi-Finalist

2003
EYES & EARS EUROPE, Halloweek, Universal Studios, Audio
EYES & EARS EUROPE, Award, ID´s, Universal Studios, Best Package
PROMAX & BDA EUROPE, Silver Medal, Shadow, Universal Studios, Best OnAir Ident-Design

2002
EYES & EARS EUROPE, Artificial Human, 13th Street, Audio
BDA INTERNATIONAL, Bronze Medal, April Movie Highlights, 13th Street, Inhouse image

2001
THE NEW YORK FESTIVAL, Gold World Medal, Masters of Thrill, 13th Street, Audio
BDA INTERNATIONAL, Bronze Medal, Masters of Thrill, 13th Street, Inhouse Image Promo
EYES & EARS OF EUROPE, Bronze Medal, Master, Award, Masters of Thrill, 13th Street, Audio

2000
BDA INTERNATIONAL, Bronze Medal, Halloween, ProSieben, Inhouse image Promo

Publications
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