Born in Leipzig in 1943 as Peter Schwarze, the artist took the name of his adopted family, Heisterkamp, before assuming the name of boxing promoter and mafioso Blinky Palermo in 1964.Palermo rose quickly to international acclaim for his experimentation with the traditional forms of painting, extending its format from two-dimensional canvases to three-dimensional architectural environments, and shifting from the medium of paint itself to found materials, including manufactured fabrics.In 1964, Palermo began studying under Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Kunstakademie, Germany, where fellow students included Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. He died prematurely in 1977, but not before creating a body of work that is considered to be at the forefront of post Wolrd War II European art.--from Serpentine Gallery exhibition brochure, 2003