Artist Statement

Michael Peck’s paintings are a constructed blend of nostalgic imagery from the 1950s, an age of innocence, blended with the sense of foreboding darkness that we tolerate as the condition of our post 9-11 contemporary society. He joins images of a multiculturalism that position us in a present space that is global, familiar, yet impossible to locate.

Isolation and displacement are central themes in his paintings. Lone figures stand in vacant spaces; withdrawn, abstracted and enervated, each engaged in solitary pursuits. Seeking ways to understand and connect with their surroundings, these characters yearn to belong. However, in each case there is a sense that their efforts, experiences and sensations are inhibited and somehow dislocated. Far from being pessimistic, these artworks seek to recognise, empathise and share the difficulties and uncertainties which are faced within a constantly changing society. Ironically there is an abstract comfort in recognition of this shared isolation.

The moments in these paintings have their genesis in reinterpretation. Old books, film stills, magazines, newspaper and found photographs are merged, juxtaposed and transformed. This practice allows the artist to create new contexts and explore possibilities for their inherently meaningful narratives. Although the stories are fabrications and distortions of a common reality, they maintain real concerns in the current world.

 

Michael Peck: CURRICULUM VITAE

www.michaelpeckart.com

Biography

1977 Born in Melbourne, Victoria

Education

1996-8 Bachelor of Fine Art (painting), Monash University.
1999-2000 Batchelor of Fine Art (Honours), Monash University.
2001 Graduate Diploma in education, Melbourne University.

Travel

Australia, Europe, Asia, United States of America.

Solo Exhibitions

2009 Michael Peck 2009, Metro Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Michael Peck 2008, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne.
2006 Somewhere Culture, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne.
2002 Influence, Gallery 101, Melbourne.
2000 Subtle Shadings of an inherited way of life, Gallery 101, Melbourne.

Selected group Exhibitions.

2009 May – June, Selected artists, Dickerson Gallery, Sydney
2008 Small gems, Metro Gallery, Melbourne.
2007 Small gems, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne.
2000 Square, Gallery 101, Melbourne, Melbourne.
2000 Melbourne Art Fair 2000, Royal Exhibition Building Carlton
1999 Panorama, Six emerging Melbourne artists, Gallery 101, Melbourne.
1999, Review- Curators choice, gallery 101, Melbourne.
1998 Impact- art for a world Identity, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne.
1998 Where are we now, Gallery 5, Melbourne.

Awards Continued.

2005 Finalist for Metro 5 Award.
2002 Finalist for City of Hobart Art Prize.
1998 Winner National Gallery of Victoria Trustees award.
1999, 1998, 1997, 1996- Shortlisted for Lucato Prize, Monash University. 
1996 Awarded most prominent first year painter, Monash University.

Commissions

2003 Goldman & Sachs, London.
2002- 2009 Private commissions in London, New York, Melbourne and Sydney.

Collections

• Monash University
• Melbourne Publishing Company
• Victoria Racing Club, Flemington
• Private collections in Australia, London, New York and Hong Kong.

 

Publicatios/Reviews.

2009 Sunday Arts feature, ABC TV. 31st May 2009.
2009 Artwork featured, Art and Australia, Online Gallery.
2009 Artwork featured in NGV Gallery Magazine.
2009 Feature, Australian Financial review.
2009 Interview- Art in the real world. http://intherealartworld.blogspot.com
2009 Article, MX Newspaper, 12th may.
2008 Radio interview- ABC 774 The conversation hour.
2008 William Jackson, On venturing to find a fit, Diamond Valley Leader, 18th June.
2008 Artwork featured in NGV Gallery magazine
2006 Jeff Makin, Critics Choice, The Herald Sun, 21 June, 2006.
2005 Full page Artwork featured on page 3, The Age, 10 February, 2005.
2002, Radio Interview, RRR.
2002, Holly Evans, Domain Diary, The Age, 10 April, p 2.
2002, Alyce Zydower, Investing in Art, The Age, 22 April, pg 14.
2000 Melbourne Art Fair 2000, Exhibition Catalogue, pp64-5
2000 Artwork pictured in The Age, Entertainment Guide, 31 March.
2000 Jeff Makin, Critics Choice, The Herald Sun, 10 April, p 103.
2000 Robert Nelson, There’s an art to feelings of dislocation, The Age, Today Review, 12 April, p7.

 

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