Pegah “Peggy” Koch — Painter

Bloom of Reverie2025 · Soft pastel and acrylic on paper · 50 × 70 cm

Painter
Paphos, Cyprus

Emotion-driven figurative abstraction rooted in modern impressionism

Selected works
2022–2025 · Scroll

(01)Artist statement

I paint inner states: reflection, longing, resilience and the quiet strength of women. Faces and figures emerge from vibrant colour and dissolve back into it, somewhere between portrait and abstraction.

Soft pastel is my main medium, often combined with acrylic, watercolour or gold leaf on paper. Pastel lets me work with pure pigment and my hands, building layers that stay luminous.

Having studied physics, I am fascinated by how light and colour shape what we see. In my paintings, colour also carries meaning: gold for strength, white for innocence, black for what has been lived through.

(02)Selected works 2022–2025

Works⁽¹⁶⁾

Woman with closed eyes and a crown of red poppies, her face and shoulders dissolving into strokes of turquoise and blue. — N°01Bloom of ReverieSoft pastel and acrylic on paper · 50 × 70 cm2025

Black and grey pastel of an elephant's head merging into a mountain landscape, with drips running down the paper. — N°02Whispers of the SavannahPastel on paper · 70 × 100 cm2025

A fox in a blue top hat decorated with flowers, wearing a blue suit and bow tie, against a pink and yellow background. — N°03The Dapper TricksterSoft pastel and acrylic on paper · 60 × 80 cm2025

Rainy New York street in blues and violets, a tower at the centre and figures with umbrellas reflected on the wet road. — N°04New York in the RainSoft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2025

Hamburg harbour in the morning, ships on the Elbe, a quay and a large street clock in the foreground. — N°05Between Tide and Fish – Hamburg’s MorningSoft pastel on paper · 70 × 50 cm2025

Close-up of a woman's face built from fragments of turquoise, yellow and violet, crossed by dark lines, with red lips. — N°06Fragments of EmotionSoft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2025

Woman with closed eyes in orange and blue tones, surrounded by pink, white and black brushstrokes and drips. — N°07Solace in SpectrumAcrylic and soft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2024

Figures with umbrellas walking past an Art Nouveau Métropolitain entrance on a rainy day in yellow and blue light. — N°08Rainy Day ReverieSoft pastel on paper · 40 × 60 cm2024

Woman drinking from a can through a straw, framed by large yellow sunflowers on a peach background. — N°09In Her ElementAcrylic and soft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2022

Young woman with short silver hair, winking and holding a cigarette, above pink flowers on a pink and orange background. — N°10MadmazelAcrylic and soft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2022

Woman with long blue and blonde hair, eyes closed, hand on her chest, against yellow, pink and blue abstract shapes. — N°11Breaking Through ThinkingSoft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2022

Woman with pale blue butterflies covering one eye, hand at her chest, on a vivid red and orange abstract ground. — N°12MetamorphosisAcrylic and soft pastel on paper · 50 × 70 cm2022

Woman in a wide red hat and red coat, with bumblebees and a red flower beside her. — N°13RougeAcrylic and soft pastel on paper · 70 × 50 cm2022

A face framed by two hands in vibrant strokes of pink, yellow, turquoise and blue on brown paper. — N°14Visions of ChildhoodSoft pastel on paper · 50 × 65 cm2022

Grey-toned female figure whose eyes are covered by a black band, crowned with gold leaf and dripping paint. — N°15WowAcrylic, watercolour and gold leaf on paper · 40 × 50 cm2022

Figure in black ink and grey washes, eyes hidden behind a broad black band with spiky strokes. — N°16Sight UnseenAcrylic and watercolour on paper · 40 × 50 cm2022

(03)Light & colour

Colour carries meaning.

“Having studied physics, I am fascinated by how light and colour shape what we see.”

“In my paintings, colour also carries meaning: gold for strength, white for innocence, black for what has been lived through.”

The spectrum of the portfolio

Sixteen works, one palette.

Hover or tap a column to open a work

20252022

(04)About

Pegah Koch in a white and blue dress and a straw hat, standing in front of her paintings at an open-air exhibition. — Hamburg zeigt Kunst, Open Air, Stadtpark, Hamburg, 2024

From Ahvaz to Hamburg to Paphos.

Born in Ahvaz, Iran, I grew up in a family of artists, where painting was as natural as breathing. After years of exhibiting in Hamburg, I moved to Paphos, Cyprus, in 2025. Mediterranean light and the experience of arriving somewhere new now feed into my work.

Pegah “Peggy” Koch (b. 1984, Ahvaz, Iran) is a painter who lived and exhibited in Germany before settling in Paphos, Cyprus. She holds a BSc in physics. Between 2022 and 2025 she took part five times in Hamburg zeigt Kunst, most recently as a featured artist at its 2025 Open Air in Hamburg’s Stadtpark. She is a member of the Deutsche Pastell Gesellschaft (German Pastel Society) and sells originals and fine-art prints through her online gallery, PK-Galerie.

1984
Ahvaz
Iran
Born into a family of artists
31.32° N · 48.67° E
2022–2025
Hamburg
Germany
Five exhibitions with Hamburg zeigt Kunst
53.55° N · 9.99° E
Since 2025
Paphos
Cyprus
Lives and works by the Mediterranean
34.77° N · 32.42° E

(05)Exhibitions & CV

Exhibitions⁽⁰⁵⁾

2025Hamburg zeigt Kunst – Summer Open AirFeatured artist in the organiser’s “Spotlight”Stadtpark / Landhaus Walter, Hamburg
2024Hamburg zeigt Kunst – Open Air (September)Stadtpark, Hamburg
2024Hamburg zeigt Kunst – Open Air (March)Stadtpark, Hamburg
2023Hamburg zeigt KunstCruise Center Altona, Hamburg
2022Hamburg zeigt KunstCruise Center Altona, Hamburg

Hamburg zeigt Kunst, Cruise Center Altona, Hamburg, November 2022

Teaching

2021Painting courses (open classes), Tostedt, Germany

Education

2009BSc Physics, Islamic Azad University, Iran
Self-directed artistic practice since childhood, in a family of artists

Membership

2022–Deutsche Pastell Gesellschaft (German Pastel Society)

Collections

Works in private collections. Originals and fine-art prints through PK-Galerie

Languages

Farsi (native), German (fluent), English (fluent)

Pegah “Peggy” Koch · Painter · Paphos, Cyprus

Works(16)

Colour carries meaning.

From Ahvaz to Hamburg to Paphos.

Exhibitions(05)

Works⁽¹⁶⁾

Exhibitions⁽⁰⁵⁾