Art Not War

Michael Peterson

Archival Pigment

“Finding beauty in the discarded is at the heart of my work. I collect what others throw away—twine, mesh, leather, paper, textured packaging—and bring it home as part of a deeply rooted ritual. Using carpet tacks, wood bases, gesso, and paint, I build each piece intuitively, layering and shaping until unrelated materials begin to speak to one another. Happenstance, chance, and accident become composition, texture, and meaning. One person’s trash is another’s texture. My goal is to create work that lives beyond the wall. Pieces that invite touch, that feel present in a room. I want the viewer to not only see the work, but to feel its weight and rawness. Since returning from the Air Force in the 1980s, I’ve watched my community evolve. I’ve outlasted many of the old haunts, galleries, and familiar places. In my art, I try to capture the layers of that passage through the rough edges, fading moments, and the unexpected beauty they leave behind. After all, that’s where the soul of it lives, for me, in art and in life.”

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Size: 16.5″ x 19.5″

Price: $200

Contact aprilhc@eauclaire.lib.wi.us for details.