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March Issue 2007
Joie Lassiter Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Features Works by George Peterson
The
Joie Lassiter Gallery in Charlotte, NC, presents New Works,
an exhibition for artist George Peterson. The exhibition opens
on Mar. 2 and continues through Mar. 31, 2007. Peterson's process
is a delicate and aggressive interplay with Nature.
After working freshly cut wood by gouging, carving, and sanding, Peterson involves Nature, yet again, exposing the wood to the elements, causing it to crack and writhe. He considers these transformations before integrating another round of carving. This repeating process evolves until a delicate balance of opposites is reached. All at once smooth and coarse, the artwork is completed by applying a finish to accentuate the final form.
"As I work the wood, I collaborate with it. The wood has a voice and I have a voice: we interact," says Peterson.
Commanding not only visual poise, Peterson's sculpture creates the desire to touch. Primitive, and yet contemporary, the sculptures create a presence that is simultaneously comforting and questioning. Surfaces are interrupted by shiny precipices, like mountains, generating interesting questions of representation. Dark totems, inspired by African woodcarving, powerfully jut in and out of space. Other works evoke skeletal imagery, strengthening the human dimension to Peterson's art, which, through eliciting emotions, he claims is a key.
By violating ordinary rules, Peterson reveals a view and unexpected beauty. He records his process as an interactive dance of energy and resistance in which something of discord plays a leading role. Controlled danger and power are intrinsic to turning and, therefore, implicit in even the most refined turned objects. By rejecting preordained form and absolute control, Peterson makes process an explicit part of the content of his work. The work, however, is not simply about turning. It also suggests a context in which approximations; accidents and irregularity have a positive meaning, a world which rewards boldness and simplicity.
For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/373-1464 or visit (www.lassitergallery.com).
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