Albert Leo Peil

born 1946 in Blankenfelde, Germany, d. 2019 in Lauf an der Pegnitz, Germany.

Albert Leo Peil (1946–2019) was a German artist whose meticulous ink drawings and embossed copper works construct a singular cosmology of queer identity, gender, and desire. Largely overlooked during his lifetime, he developed his practice in near-isolation in the Bavarian town of Lauf an der Pegnitz. His drawings — often rendered through a distinctive pointillism in which scattered ink dots gradually coalesce into form — populate tectonic landscapes with idealized, androgynous figures: mythical and celestial beings, cultural icons, and historical personae clothed in baroque robes and sci-fi headgear evocative of Pierre Cardin's 1960s Space Age couture. Combining masculine and feminine attributes, hermaphroditic forms, and explicit erotic detail, these compositions defy the gender binaries of his time, imagining alternate futures of queer life and virility.

"An especially remarkable feature of his mature techniques is a unique brand of drawn pointillism. In some of Peil's most accomplished works, seemingly chaotic ink dots slowly coalesce into clear forms." — Gregor Quack

His work has been exhibited in solo and group presentations at CCA Berlin; House, Berlin; the Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Kunst Galerie Fürth, Fürth; and Mujin-to Production, Tokyo. In 2025, he was the subject of Moon Argent at The Intermission, Athens — his first solo exhibition in Greece.

Gallery exhibitions

Kenneth Bergfeld, Albert Leo Peil,   at 535 West 22nd Street, New York
09 Sep – 26 Sep 2025
535 West 22nd Street, New York
Albert Leo Peil, Scene II at Jan Kaps, Cologne
Scene II
08 Jun – 23 Aug 2022
Jan Kaps, Cologne
Albert Leo Peil, Scene I at Jan Kaps, Cologne
Scene I
14 May – 02 Jun 2022
Jan Kaps, Cologne

Institutional exhibitions

Albert Leo Peil, Moon Argent at The Intermission, Athens
Moon Argent
12 Mar – 26 Apr 2025
The Intermission, Athens
Albert Leo Peil, Summer 24 at CCA Berlin
Summer 24
12 Jul – 15 Sep 2024
CCA Berlin
Albert Leo Peil, Game of no games at Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
Game of no games
13 Nov 22 – 05 Mar 2023
Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne

Vita

*1946 in Blankenfelde, Germany ✝ 2019 in Lauf an der Pegnitz, Germany

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2025 Moon Argent, The Intermission, Athens

2022 Scene I, Jan Kaps, Cologne Scene II, Jan Kaps, Cologne

2021 Albert Leo Peil - Ein Zeichner und Grandseigneur, Kunst Galerie Fürth, Fürth

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025 Kenneth Bergfeld & Albert Leo Peil, Jan Kaps offsite at 535West, 22nd St, 3rd Floor, New York

2024 Summer 24, CCA Berlin Séance, House, Berlin

2022 Game of No Games: Anleitung zu beschwingtem Gehen, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne Onsen Confidential, Mujin-to Production, Tokyo