Peter Drake: toys

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Peter Drake Artist Interview by Gorky's Granddaughter (part 1 of 2)

Artist Peter Drake interviewed by Gorky's Granddaughter.

Gorky’s Granddaughter is a documentary art project by Christopher Joy and Zachary Keeting. http://www.gorkysgranddaughter.com/

Part 1 of 2 Video interviews done at Kim Foster Gallery in Chelsea during the group exhibition Monkey Spoon curated by D. Dominick Lombardi.

Peter Drake (1) at Kim Foster Gallery, June 2011 from Gorky's Granddaughter on Vimeo.

Peter Drake Artist Interview by Gorky's Granddaughter (part 2 of 2)

Artist Peter Drake interviewed by Gorky's Granddaughter.

Gorky’s Granddaughter is a documentary art project by Christopher Joy and Zachary Keeting. http://www.gorkysgranddaughter.com/

Part 2 of 2 Video interviews done at Kim Foster Gallery in Chelsea during the group exhibition Monkey Spoon curated by D. Dominick Lombardi.

Additional location of this interview is at Mark Mennin's Studio.

http://www.markmennin.com

Peter Drake (2) at Kim Foster Gallery, June 2011 from Gorky's Granddaughter on Vimeo.

EXHIBITIONS

CURRENT:

Toy Stories
Group show curated by Helen Klisser During,
Westport Arts Center
WAC Gallery
Westport, CT
Jan. 27 - March 18, 2012
http://www.westportartscenter.org

Salvaged
group show curated by Dina Brodsky & Tun Myaing
Island Weiss Gallery, NYC,
Nov.8 - Dec. 21, 2011
http://www.islandweiss.com/Salvaged/frames.html

B Side
Group show curated by Linnea Paskow & Melanie Vote
York College Gallery of Art
Oct 6 - Dec. 31, 2011

Space Invaders

Rose Contemporary
Curated by Virginia Rose and John Nickle
July 1 - August 27, 2011
www.rosecontemporary.com

Cinematic Bodies

Zolla / Lieberman Gallery
Curated by Jamie Adams
Opening: May 13, 4:30-8 pm
May 20 - August 25, 2011
www.zollaliebermangallery.com

Monkey Spoon

Kim Foster Gallery
Curated by D. Dominick Lombardi
June 9 - July 29, 2011
Opens: Thursday June 9 6-8pm
www.kimfostergallery.com

RECENT :

Exit Art
OUTER SPACE BENEFIT AUCTION
Wednesday, May 18, 7:30-9:30PM
EXIT ART
475 10th Ave at 36th Street
NYC, NY
www.exitart.org

"Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again"
A Show of Small Works on Used MetroCards
Sloan Fine Art
www.sloanfineart.com
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 17th, 5 to 9 pm
Exhibition: March 18 to 26, 2011

Visual Manifesto

District & Co. Gallery
5th Anniversary Exhibition Retrospective
Galería Nacional de Bellas Artes
Opening: Nov. 2, 7-11 pm
http://www.districtco.com

Take Home a Nude ®
Sotheby's Art Auction & Party!
New York Academy of Art
One night only Oct 18, 2010
http://www.nyaa.edu/nyaa/index.html

Bandits, Pirates and Outlaws
Lost Coast Culture Machine
Oct 1 - Nov 28, 2010
Pre-Election Day Party & Film Screening
www.lostcoastculturemachine.org

Tethered to My World
Contemporary Figure Painting:Location, Chicago

TAC / The Highland Park Art Center
Arranged by Phyllis Bramson
September 3 – October 1
Opening: Sept. 11, 6-p pm
http://www.theartcenterhp.org

Remnants

Fuse Gallery
Curated by Michelle Doll & Lisa Lebofsky
June 23rd – July 3rd
Opening: June 23rd, 7-10 pm
http://www.fusegallerynyc.com

First Growth
First Green Gallery
*One-night Only Benefit
June 25 @ 6pm
35 East 1st Street
firststreetgreen@gmail.com

Conceptually Sound

Medialia Gallery
New York Academy of Art Alumni & Faculty
Organized by Roberto Osti & Noah Buchanan
June 5th – July 17th
http://www.medialiagallery.com/2010/jun2010spaceII.html

ART CHICAGO
Linda Warren Gallery
Opening Preview: April 29th
April 30th – May 3rd
*Drake video animations will be on view*
http://www.lindawarrengallery.com/animations.shtml

JUST OFF
Curated by Peter Drake & Alix Sloan
Sloan Fine Art
Feb 24 - Mar 20
http://www.sloanfineart.com

Looks Good On Paper
DFN Gallery
Feb 3 - Mar 6, 2010

private(dis)play
New York Academy of Art
January 26 – February 28, 2010
**WHITE GLOVE NIGHT** Mar 1, 6pm

Water/Bodies
Eden Rock Gallery - St Barths
Dec 21 - Jan 31, 2010

Right to Print:Segura Publishing Company
NAU Art Museum
October 20 - December 19, 2009

Gone to the Dogs*
Denise Bibro Gallery
Oct 8 – Nov 7, 2009
*new video being shown

Take Home a Nude ®
Sotheby's Art Auction & Party!
New York Academy of Art
One night only Oct 7, 2009

Memoirs from Suburbia
Evan Lurie Gallery
Sept 19 – Oct 24, 2009

Reconfigured & Relocated
DFN Gallery
Sept 9 – Oct 3, 2009

My Long Island
Islip Museum of Art
June 24 - Sept 6, 2009
Reception July 26, 1-4pm

+ 2
Sloan Fine Art
Opens June 20, 4-6pm
June 20 - July 18, 2009

Parsons Pink Slips
George Adams Gallery
Opens June 6, 4-6pm
June 4 - July 2, 2009

spctclr vws
Opens May 15, 7-10pm
One Brooklyn Bridge Park @ 360 Furman Street
May 16 - June 7, 2009
Sat-Sun 12-6

Artist Statement

My recent body of work is based on a collection of lead soldiers my father assembled over the course of his life. I was surprised when I inherited them to see how many depicted Arab and North African soldiers. There were Zouaves, Saracens, Mamaluks and Ottoman Turks. I was struck by how often children’s toys have been used to depict another culture as enemy combatants, that even in child’s play the other could take on a menacing and evil aspect. What was the logic for creating this terrain? Tens of thousands of children playing with tens of thousands of toys, training for who knows what?

This past summer I began the process of teaching myself the basics of After Effects software so I could animate my paintings. In effect I have always thought of my work cinematically, I set the stage and then fill it with props and actors. In the past the challenge was always to find the one frame that completely embodied the narrative. In the video animations I’m working with tens of thousands of frames. Strangely it feels like I’m still painting, just in time and space.

With combinations of stop motion, live action and digital effects I bring the toys to life. By placing the figures in settings that are both familiar and unexpected I hope to highlight some of the consequences of the history of conflict epitomized by these lead toys. Severed heads roll across barren stages, mutant horsemen gallop in slow motion down Manhattan streets, political buzzwords dribble out of flaccid guns. This is not a critique of any one conflict but rather a reflection of a military adventurism that has marked the history of the world.

Peter Drake

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Peter Drake Artist Interview by Gorky's Granddaughter (part 1 of 2)

Peter Drake Artist Interview by Gorky's Granddaughter (part 2 of 2)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Wort Schmertz by Peter Drake, Video Annimation

Arms and the Man by Peter Drake, Video Annimation

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

War Stories by Peter Drake (7:28m)

About Me

Related Sites

EXHIBITIONS

ARTnews May 2009 Review

Artist Statement

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