The second creative period 1953–1976
Art paintings with topics of the unconscious (oil, watercolor, oil crayon, lithography). 1953-1976.
Traditional motives, magical realism and portraiture
«Peter Birkhäuser’s paintings frequently give form to overwhelming contents from the collective unconscious whose sense only becomes apparent when seen in the context of the spiritual predicament of our times. Birkhäuser was uniquely sensitive to the subliminal issues of the age. His whole career demonstrated that his special calling as an artist was to dedicate his abilities to a greater creative spirit and use his art to reveal, not only the crisis and infirmity of our times, but more importantly the reactions and healing impulses of the autonomous psyche. His pictures act as mirrors of the soul, where things hidden within us and our age become visible. In the major themes of the paintings we can observe something resembling a collective process of individuation. This is religious art, a manifestation of an image of God originating in the unconscious, striving to become real as part of a new consciousness. The artist's own personal individuation
process becomes a gestation in paintings that circumscribe the birth of a new myth.»
From: Eva Wertenschlag-Birkhäuser. Windows on Eternity. The Paintings of Peter Birkhäuser. Daimon 2008.