BOE 2006 Social Club Red

Peter Barret was born in Boston in 1968, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1990. Subsequently he obtained his Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. Almost immediately after his graduation his work began to appear in group shows in Chicago and in residencies, soon expanding to other major U.S. and European cities. By 2001 he had his first solo show at Folin/Riva Gallery in New York.

Peter’s work is not limited to painting; he applies his personal vision and technique across drawing, reliefs, objects, and photography. His work is a play of analogue versus digital, discreet versus continuous, and is meticulously created. Each work is a trick to the eye from a distance; sometimes appearing as though the viewer is unable to focus on a smooth gradient of color, up close you see the carefully chosen succession of colors hand-painted in ribbons alongside one another, in Peter’s own brand of pointalism.

Most recently Peter curated his first show at The Hogar Collection in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, called “Obssessive Reductive”, a study of the slight an subtle changes of monochromatics, patterns, and light. Salem Art Works in Salem, NY hosted Peter for a two-part residency during the gallery’s 2008 season, which included the construction of a 82-foot diameter flower garden labyrinth, and painting the gallery’s 77-foot wall. Peter is also a food and wine enthusiast, and blogs about his culinary explorations and adventures.