These new oil paintings and works on paper reflect Gary Petersen’s long-term exploration of the interaction between pure abstraction and spatial illusion. The images offer alternating yet coherent readings of figure-ground relations. Outlined shapes, with stripes or bands of vibrant color within, suggest veiled or draped forms. The paintings deftly merge the synthetic and the natural.

Petersen lives in Hoboken, N.J. and works in New York. He received a BS from Penn State University and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been in numerous group exhibitions, including Diverse Works, Houston, Tex.; Vedanta Gallery, Chicago; The American Academy of Arts and Letters, Nicole Klagsbrun, and Frederieke Taylor in New York. He had solo exhibitions with Genovese/Sullivan Gallery in Boston and Fusebox in Washington. His work is in several collections, including Johnson and Johnson Corporation, Jersey City Museum, and the Zimmerli Art Museum.

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