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I first saw Peter's work while visiting Denise Morris Curt's show last May. It was one of those awestruck moments- the kind of moment when you see something for the first time and immediately stop in your tracks. Being an artist myself I stood in front of his display for about three minutes, unable to speak. I was totally impressed. I finally moved in and started to talk to Peter about his incredible work. Peter is a fabulous artist and a wonderful person to talk to if you ever are lucky enough to see his work in person.In Peter's own words: "For the most part I am a self-taught "outsider" artist but I've had various instances of formal training. What comes to mind most importantly is a three-month intense study in human anatomy at Rhode Island School of Design. The human sculptures I now do from wire mesh are far more directly linked to actual drawing and sketching than most would believe. Cross-hatching is vital for depth of field; a natural grid already exists in screen-mesh. All works are created freehand, using the imagination, preliminary sketches and only my fingernails; never with molds." "I've worked in many many mediums over the years... having successfully taught watercolor-landscape to adults for 10 years at the University of Vermont. Pete also worked for 17 years with children. He attributes the work he now does in mesh screen sculpting to the inspiration they gave him. "We did many projects every year but one was to work with recycled screen mesh for sculpting and for maskmaking, after having one day discovered the dazzling properties of shadows cast from the sunlit windows upon the rows of incompleted masks lined up on a table." "I'd heard somewhere about a man who took an old fireplace screen and a torch and carved out a figure. He hung it in front of lighting to simply cast a shadow on a wall for an exhibit. I think I've pretty much got my own format and approach and that no one does what I do nor how I create them." Smith also spent several years working in print making (from wood blocks and linoleum carvings). "So, I've done a lot of varying art forms over the years; including 2 dimensional works in mixed media, watercolor, acrylics and oil paintings." He's been inspired by working in various mediums; watercolor, mixed media, oils etc and expecially by Paul Klee, Miro, Rubens, Gaugin, Kandinsky & Picasso and of course the masters, like Raphael, Rodin & Michelangelo. And additionally lately by the oddly boney shaped humans of Egon Sheile, the Eastern European, 19th/20th Century artist, known for his provocative bodies. Smith also likes to think of his work as evoking the inherently "natural" beauty from within ALL varying human shapes. "I consider this form of sculpting to be very meditative and even therapuetic and healing." Smith's works range from 12 inches high to over full human scale sizes. He's recently done a large full scale piece from copper for an architectural firm which will appear to free float (from very thin thread-wire). "I've been presenting works at festivals for a little over a year now. I'm not crazy about the traveling and all the work on my own. I plan to cut back on festivals this summer. I'll be doing the Berkshires (at Butternut) and New Paltz, NY and probably Stamford CT. and a few others throughout New England. And any new offers I get or opportunities or discoveries I make; taking me as far south as the Carolinas and west to the Mississippi and north back to New England; I will be keeping an eye open & out for any new opportunities to present my works." Peter's work can be seen at the following galleries: West Branch Gallery of Stowe Vermont Gallery 100 of Saratoga Springs, New York Light Street Gallery of Baltimore Md Gallery Yellow of Cross River New York The Art Gallery of BellBuckle, Tennessee Mountain Gallery of Monteagle, Tennessee Peter Robinson-Smith, 211 Park St. #2, Burlington, VT 05401 802-355-5809 Email: hiddendrives@yahoo.com |