Peter Gric

About

Peter Gric is an Austrian painter and illustrator originally from the Czech Republic, born in 1968 in Brno, Czechoslovakia, as the only child of artists Ludmila and Jaroslav Gric. In his childhood, his family emigrated to Austria, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Professor Arik Brauer, a founding member of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. He completed his Master's degree in Fine Arts in 1993 and has since become renowned for his distinctive fusion of organic-surreal imagery with complex architectural structures and biomechanical forms. Gric pioneered the integration of digital technology into his artistic practice, beginning in the early 1990s by using 3D visualization software to design compositions before transferring them to paint. This innovative approach is most evident in his "Artificial Spaces" series, which explores impossible geometries and non-accessible places through mathematical and algorithmic concepts. His work has been exhibited internationally alongside notable artists such as H.R. Giger and is held in prestigious collections including the Austrian Gallery in the Belvedere in Vienna and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's personal collection. Beyond painting, Gric has worked extensively in concept design, sculpture, and illustration. He served as a concept designer for Guillermo del Toro's film project "At the Mountains of Madness" from 2010 onward and taught at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts from 2011 to 2015. He is a member of the Labyrinthe Gesellschaft and has illustrated numerous book covers for science fiction and fantasy genres. Currently residing in Oberhöflein at the Hohe Wand plateau near the Eastern Alps, Gric continues to create visionary works that explore alternative realities and states of consciousness.

Organic-surreal imagery with complex architectural structures, biomechanical forms, and futuristic landscapes; influenced by Vienna School of Fantastic Realism