"Dreamer" on display at Artists' Row

Don't let artist Peter Lawrence's vibrant palette fool you when you see his work for the first time. \nAlthough his large-scale oil paintings are brilliantly colored, the greatest influences on his work have been tragic literature and poetry, in which the contradiction between the self and nature is evident. Lawrence, who studies philosophy as a hobby, bases his themes around the idea that every person feels they have had a tragic life, even the wealthy and the well-off. \n"If you have ever read Voltaire's "Candide," you will remember when the woman on the boat points out that everyone has had the 'most tragic life,'" Lawrence said. "Even the rich people think their lives have been tragic, because they lack fulfillment and joy. The poor people think their lives are tragic, because they lack wealth and security."\n"Dreamer," Lawrence's current show at the Artist's Row Gallery, 1300 S. Walnut St., searches for an explanation of the human psyche and the reality of human tragedy. Focused on line, movement and color, his works take on an abstract quality that adds to the element of sublimity. \n"I like to take care of the formal qualities of line and space and movement first," Lawrence said. "Then I take a synthetic approach to the figures. I see something in the paint -- a matrix of line and form and then I bring the figures and characters out in the painting." \n"Dreamer," the exhibition's title piece is a fantastic mix of terror and rapture. At first glance the viewer can see the peaceful, sleeping dreamer. But after a second look, the viewer can see that not only gargoyles and sunsets inhabit the painting, but also another dreaming face, this one clearly experiencing a nightmare. This work arose out of the artist's own experimentation with images. \n"I think that if you allow surprises in work, then you can express yourself and achieve a little something more," Lawrence said. \n"The Flight of Icarus" is perhaps most indicative of his incredible use of primary colors to depict the heavy topic of human tragedy. The painting shows a modern version of the mythological story of Icarus, who melted his homemade wings by flying too close to the sun. The work emphasizes the dramatic tumbling of the angel who meets his challenge and then falls to reality, which Lawrence said he views as being expressive of humanity. \n"When I work, I am thinking about the human psyche and the element of human tragedy," Lawrence said. "There is something going on with people when they experience failure and there is always going to be an inner struggle."\n"Girl in the Window" is one of his few works that seems to focus more on form than on movement and color, although the latter elements are not absent from this work. The painting shows a young woman peering out of a window, watching the street below where a car accident is in progress. The young woman is fixated on the scene below, as if the accident were entertainment. Her role as a spectator is reminiscent of the early 20th century AshCan school of painters, John Sloan and George Bellows, who used their work to develop the idea of a spectacle. Lawrence fashioned the scene so the action from the street below seems to flow into the window, invading the girl's space. Lawrence uses this work to point out the blindness of people to events that are affecting their own lives. \n"Carnival" takes on the traditional form of a tapestry. The work, which fills much of the wall at Artist's Row, depicts a struggle between demons and angels, expressive of human drama. The work is influenced strongly by Paul Gauguin's work "Jacob Wrestling an Angel." In a work where water can be seen turning to fire, "Alchemy and Desire" discusses the chicanery hidden beneath the surface of life. It deals with the idea of consumption and viewing the human not just as consumer, but being consumed by life, people and society. \nLawrence, who has never had a piece rejected from an exhibition, received a BFA from Sonoma State University, San Francisco and his MFA from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Elizabeth A. Griffith Award and the Arts Indiana Award, both awarded at the Swope's Juried Exhibition in Terre Haute, Ind. The Artist's Row Gallery will continue to host his current show through Friday, Sept. 28. Lawrence's work will again be on display during the month of January at the Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St.