Piper studied art in Aachen together with Bauhaus students of Paul Klee and Johannes Itten as well as at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen Werden (BA Art 1970). In the 1970s he specialized in painting, went to New York, and became an assistant to Milton Glaser at Push Pin Studio,[2] at that time one of the leading forces in graphic design and illustration.[3] Piper soon worked for the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Vogue. He also designed and illustrated book and record covers,[4] including several albums for The Rolling Stones, who received their first ever Grammy Award for the cover of Tattoo You in the category of Best Album Package with illustrations by Piper.[5] Later he increasingly dedicated himself to fine art, producing sculptures and various series of drawings and paintings. In 2005 he returned to Germany, where he lived and worked in Berlin and Görlitz.
Recognition
1971 Folkwang sponsorship award
1980 Gold Award Art Directors Club Chicago
1988 Century City Gallery, Los Angeles
Exhibitions
Century City Gallery, Los Angeles
Hall of Fame, Minnesota
Illustrator Guild, NYC
Meru Art Gallery, Brooklyn
Canal Pier, NYC: public installation stone collection West Side remnants
1999–2004: 20 ft. Sphinx installation with geomantic impact: head in juncture with Empire State Building to Statue of Liberty / New Jersey Tunnel in juncture to WT Center
Manhattan Bridge Viaduct – Installation Habitat II
Brooklyn Bridge – Installation Habitat IV
2016: Christian Piper – Just for Now, PRIVATEOFFSPACE[6]