SOLO EXHIBITION | SCOTTSDALE, AZ
New dates!
Altamira Fine Art Scottsdale is pleased to present our first exhibition for Arizona-based artist Kenneth Peloke, May 4-23, 2020.
Please stay tuned for more details on new date and time for artist events.
Realism and abstraction: rarely do artists explore both simultaneously. The dance between the two modes is what fuels the practice of Kenneth Peloke. Thus, Opposites Attract, is the title of his debut exhibit at Altamira Fine Art. By working synergistically between both styles, he harnesses the chemistry of characters and creatures inherent in Western imagery.
In his Scottsdale studio, Peloke surrounds himself with multiple canvases, shifting his attention between compositions, rotating between realism and abstraction. Hours spent on the mane of a bison may be followed by bouncing to the corner of an angular cowboy silhouette. Ever moving physically, he lets his creativity settle into a mode of concentration spread across canvases. Sometimes, his paintings shift within themselves: “Some of my best realistic paintings began as fun, more gestural pieces where I drew with a paintbrush, quickly, with heavy darks and accentuated lights. Sometimes it can be hard for me to leave a very bold sketch or charcoal, but then it turns representational. It’s exciting if it takes a different direction.”
As a fledgling artist, Peloke set out to master realism. Self-taught starting at the age of seven, he began by insatiably drawing and painting what he saw. With time—and further study of art and music—he found an affinity in abstraction, the unknown, while following his academic pursuits down the more practical path of graphic design. On the precipice of fatherhood, he funneled his effusion of emotions back into fine art. The diligence cultivated by his design work now informs the palimpsests he creates in paint. He lets layers accumulate, adding and erasing as required. Each canvas comes into its own, evoking the experience of aging through texture and imperfections. His process emulates life—letting intuition and experimentation guide him.
“You put something down, it looks good and feels good. Or you scrape away and something beautiful emerges out of frustration or anger.”