Peter Brandes was born in Assens in 1944. Self-taught, the multi-talented artist (painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, metalworker and photographer) celebrates seminal cultural stories from Ancient Greece, Scandinavian mythology and the Bible by revisiting them. His Judaeo-Christian-inspired works are often interpreted as having reinvigorated the practice of Danish church art.

The artist’s skill has landed him several high-profile commissions such as contributions to the Roskilde Domkirke (Roskilde Cathedral), stained glass windows in the Nordkap and Village of Hope (Los Angeles) churches. In 1998, Brandes created the Roskilde Jars outside Roskilde Railway Station, a monumental outdoor work depicting oversized jars.

These site-specific commissions have made the artist acquainted with metalwork (to allow him to create monumental decorated doors), a practice that cemented his lasting collaboration with the Fonderia Mariani.

Brandes and his wife, the painter Maja Lise Engelhardt, live and work in Colombes.