PETER WALLIS: Sacred/Mundane

Exhibition Dates: November 12, 2022 - January 7, 2023

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 12th @6PM-9PM

www.loislambertgallery.com/peter-wallis

Lois Lambert Gallery presents Sacred / Mundane, the newest exhibit of work by artist Peter Wallis. Wallis begins each work by recalling the walks he’s taken at dusk, through his past and present neighborhoods.

He collects ideas from the surrounding environment, looking for scenes that might typically go unnoticed. Wallis sketches and collages together these images, both real and imagined. He brings places from different locations and periods of time into the same space, creating an entirely new landscape. These sketches later serve as references when Wallis creates the final paintings in gouache and charcoal. Wallis intends for this work to be thought-provoking. Each piece is built from fragments of memories or dreams that evoke feelings of nostalgia of an unfamiliar place. Many of the buildings present in Wallis’ paintings no longer exist. Wallis’ paintings use a visual language of abandoned buildings, figurines, dancers, and skeletons to convey the feeling of being in a dream. The negative space left in many of his works provides room for the viewer to draw personal connections, allowing their own memories to contextualize the stories within each scene. Wallis approaches each painting as if it were a scene from a play with no end, seeking to create a unique landscape, in which the mundane is sacred. Wallis has collaborated with artist Jonathan Capone to create interactive versions of his work for this exhibition. On some of Wallis’ pieces, the pair have created animations that use the viewer’s body motions, gestures, and interactions to activate and engage with the work in live time. The viewer’s movement triggers different parts of the animations embedded in Wallis’ work.

Peter Wallis is an interdisciplinary artist based out of Santa Monica, CA. He has worked with students throughout the country, teaching visual arts at independent schools and nonprofit arts organizations. In 2006, Wallis received his BFA in Illustration, with a double minor in Art History and Drawing from the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME. In 2010, he received his MFA from Goddard College with a focus on Printmaking, Graphic Novels, and Peace Studies. Additionally, Wallis served as an artist in residence in 2009, with Can Serrat, an international artist residency located in the Montserrat Mountains of Catalonia, Spain. Wallis’ work has been shown at the Putney School, Goddard College, Chaffee Art Center, SFMOMA, Oakland Art Library, the De Young Museum, and other galleries in the U.S.