Peter Dreher

The critically acclaimed German post-war painter Peter Dreher is best known for his series of still life works depicting an empty water glass on a flat surface. From 1974 until his death in 2020, Dreher completed more than 5,000 paintings of the same glass, painted at various times of day, from the same perspective, and against the same backdrop. At first glance, the ten-by-eight-inch works in the series, titled “Tag um Tag Guter Tag” (”Day by Day, Good Day”), look identical. Upon closer inspection, viewers can detect subtle differences in shadow, light, palette, and technique. Dreher’s work has been featured in exhibitions around the world, including in a significant retrospective at the Milton Keynes Museum in the United Kingdom.