VITA
Hans Peter Riegel was born in Düsseldorf into a family deeply interested in the arts. He studied Visual Communication, Photography, Film, and Art Theory at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, and pursued partial studies in Philosophy at the University of Düsseldorf.
In 1973, through the mediation of his art teacher Wilfrid Polke, the older brother of Sigmar Polke, he first encountered Joseph Beuys.
In 1975, Riegel met the Beuys student Jörg Immendorff during a school politics project. The two became close friends. After completing an internship in stage design at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, Riegel worked as Immendorff’s assistant from 1979 to 1984—a period marked by numerous encounters with Beuys as well.
During these years, Riegel served as Immendorff’s photographic and film documentarian and collaborated with him on various projects and publications, including FF bringts, Café D. gut, Weltfrage – Video und Edition, 38.-, 39.-, 40. Parteitag, and La Paloma – Kapelle am Wegesrand.
Initially, Riegel exhibited paintings, but soon turned his focus to photography, video, and later digital media. His interest in applied art eventually led him to the field of advertising.
After graduating and spending an extended period in New York, Riegel began his advertising career in 1984 as the youngest Art Director and Copywriter at the legendary agency GGK Düsseldorf.
In the following years, he led agencies within the BBDO and Publicis networks as Creative Director, Managing Director, and Partner. His work received numerous international awards for design excellence. He served on the jury of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and is a member of the Art Directors Club of Switzerland.
In 1992, Riegel conceived and designed The Garden in Düsseldorf—the first multimedia event center in Germany, integrating web, live television, and telecommunications experiences.
In 1997, he left the advertising industry, relocated to Zurich, and founded Riverside, an investment and consulting company. As a strategic consultant and business partner, he developed pioneering projects in cultural production and served as CEO of a new media and entertainment company in collaboration with Bertelsmann from 1998 to 2001. At the end of 2021, he withdrew from all business roles to take a creative sabbatical.
In 2003, Riegel returned to art under the pseudonym SIS.TM, launching a conceptual art project that critically examined the socialization of individuals on the Internet—primarily through video works. He was among the first artists worldwide to explore the Internet as both medium and subject of artistic inquiry.
In 2008, he published a book from this project under the title FLICKERING SUBJECTS.
Afterward, he intensified his work as a writer and art historian, pulished as a journalist in major media such as Die Welt, Der Spiegel, Fokus or NZZ and published several books:
2010: IMMENDORFF – THE BIOGRAPHY
2013: BEUYS – DIE BIOGRAPHIE (first edition)
2018: Expanded new editions of BEUYS – DIE BIOGRAPHIE (Volumes 2 and 3)
2018: Expanded new edition of IMMENDORFF – DIE BIOGRAPHIE
2019: ÜBER KUNST
2021: BEUYS – DIE BIOGRAPHIE, Volume 4
The Beuys biography—now totaling around 1,500 pages—has attracted international attention and is regarded today as the definitive work on Beuys in German-language literature.
In 2016, with a modest budget of only 30,000 Swiss francs, Riegel produced the essayistic documentary film MEL. DAS ANDERE LEBEN, which premiered in cinemas in February 2017 to highly positive reviews.
In 2017, he directed the experimental feature film DRIFTED, for which he also wrote the screenplay and composed the music. DRIFTED was the first European feature film shot entirely on smartphones and has since been released on major streaming platforms.
In 2018, Riegel founded a digital publishing company and began contributing articles on art to leading publications.
In 2020, he initiated and curated DA Z – Digital Art Zurich, an international festival showcasing around forty distinguished artists from around the world.
In 2020, he conceived and produced the art exhibition Window of the World in St. Moritz.
In 2022, he wrote and directed the experimental opera Disrupted Scenes at the Zurich Opera House.
Riegel’s own artworks have been widely exhibited and are represented in several collections. He continues to work as a media artist.
Alongside his activities as an author, artist, and curator, Hans Peter Riegel serves as Creative Director and Partner at Riverside, which operates in the fields of strategic consulting, culture, communication, and media production.
His work focuses on developing and realizing cultural projects, as well as fostering exchange between social groups through cultural platforms and digital media. In this capacity, he also advises companies and institutions.
Hans Peter Riegel lives and works in Zurich.
A very personal conversation:
SWR2 Contemporaries
"I owe Beuys the indispensable will to make a difference."