For his latest show with us Pete has made 32 new works mostly inspired by the rural communities of North and West Wales.
His background and experience in graphic art is clear and put to good use. The work has an immediacy, but still manages to be full of detail, and a kind of empathy. He uses collage and elements of street art to enrich and provide commentary on the scenes he paints, starting a dialogue between artist and audience, provoking a kind of active engagement. And the work is always beautifully structured and balanced.
His buildings rarely show us their faces, they are turned away. But still they are full of character. And while they possess an air of permanence, they are often sagging, succumbing to fragility. There are signs of decay and neglect all about. We see wounded dignity, and uncertainty. Pete encourages us to look afresh at these marginal, undervalued places. To recognize their value and their stoic perseverance.
Pete was born in Gloucestershire in 1961 and worked for 20 years as a technical illustrator in Germany before completing a Fine Art course in Aberystwyth, where he now lives. He has been exhibiting with us regularly since 2016. His work is represented in public collections here in Wales and in Europe.