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April 18 – May 31, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, April 18, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
In-person Artist Talk: Friday, May 16, 6:30 PM
“Peter’s paintings convey his cheerful sense of humor and love of color through the representation of old street signage and everyday objects. Not only is his draftsmanship exquisite, but his sense of composition consistently creates for interesting and compelling pieces that reflect the wit and intellect of the artist. Peter is a prolific painter whose work, though representational, portrays an uncanny and curious abstract quality that insists that the viewer pause and reconsider what in fact it is that the painting represents.“
–Sculptor, Kathy Wright
Peter portrays the fading imagery of North American signage, typography, toys, and everyday objects, expressing their iconic qualities, while delighting in the sensual quality of paint. The images that most inspire him offer an opportunity to emphasize drawing that delights in the pure expression of line. The strong positive and negative shapes of the typography coupled with broken neon and cast shadows help capture the spirit of these fading icons.
Peter states:
“While most people think of a landscape as a pretty pastoral scene, a lovely sunset, or some kind of “beautiful” view… I am intrigued by weather-beaten manmade signage and objects – often including the elegance of their typography – and sometimes co-habited with nature’s flora and fauna. These make up my daily living “landscapes” that seem to me more real and abstract at the same time. This approach allows me to concurrently integrate representational subjects and my approach to “allover” painting while flattening out the picture plane.
As for subject matter… Why do I find these old signs of interest… is it just nostalgia? Why do I include both manmade objects and nature-made fauna in these paintings? Why do these seemingly contradictory elements grab my attention and give me a sense they belong together… at times ironic, humorous, frightening, and yet compelling? In this time filled with environmental challenges, we need to think about what exactly is our environment composed of. What do we save; what do we discard… and why?”
STATEMENT
What began as a chance encounter with vintage cast-iron shoemaking machinery in a Rhode Island work shop evolved into a deeper meditation on how we attempt to impose structure on an increasingly complex world. Drawing parallel to how medieval artists used religious iconography to create visual and spiritual order, I transform these heavy, oily machines into modern-day icons.
Through dozens of studies in various media—charcoal, oil pastel, crayon, collage, and acrylic—I moved progressively away from literal representation. The machines became vessels for exploring elemental shapes and patterns within the two-dimensional plane. In some works, I arrange the machinery in triptychs, echoing religious altarpieces, while others stand as solitary portraits.
The work draws from diverse influences: the formal composition of 13th-century altarpieces, the innovative forms of Lee Bontecou, and the raw testimony of British war artists. The integration of haunting images of broken aircraft from a 1915 Ukrainian WWI photo album, transferred onto rice paper and affixed to the canvas, creates a dialogue between industrial progress and human conflict. These disparate elements coalesce into works that speak to the eternal cycles of creation and destruction, the inevitability of religion, war, greed and ambition and how they are playing out in the world today.
While these paintings were conceived earlier, I believe they remain remarkably relevant to our current moment. The series reflects on the persistent themes that shape our world: the relationship between power struggles and human cost, the search for order amid chaos. In these works, the mechanical forms transcend their original function to become symbols of humanity’s endless striving to find meaning and impose order on an increasingly complex existence.
Discards & Discovery
Selected works by Brian McClear
I’m fascinated by the potential of everyday objects and the stories they hold. My work is driven by a desire to explore the relationship between seemingly unrelated items and to find new meaning in their connections.
A wilted rose. A tattered piece of twine. A smooth river stone. It’s hard to imagine what these seemingly disparate objects could possibly have in common. But when paired together, it’s precisely those differences that emphasize a commonality or bring new meaning that invites interpretation.
Through my work, I aim to explore the hidden beauty and meaning in the objects we overlook and to inspire others to see the world around them with fresh eyes. My process is one of discovery, and I am constantly surprised by the unexpected connections that emerge.
