Peter Burega(1965 - PRESENT )

In his art, Peter Burega confers a personal vision of Nature as an intangible, ethereal place of light and color. His meditative, abstract paintings take visual cues from the natural world, but preserve a quality of mystery that distills his scenes into a weightless dance of elements: light, color, shadow and temperature. By removing any obvious allusions to identifiable landscape forms, Burega transforms our sense of place into that of an infinite beyond.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Burega lives and works in California. He was trained as a concert pianist at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, received a B.A. in Art History and Sociology from McGill University in Montreal, and subsequently earned a J.D. from Whittier College in Los Angeles. His art is today included in noted public and private collections across the United States.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I am preoccupied with the act of painting - of applying paint to surface. Much has been written about the interplay of chaos and control in my work, but ultimately, for me, it always comes down to painting. I work with a single tool - an implement which provides enough facility to create sweeping passages while affording sufficient dexterity to fashion the most exacting detail. When I paint nothing carries as much weight as the simple gesture of spreading paint on a panel. I take photographs, which do act as an initial inspiration for my work, but, in truth, these photos blur into the substrate of my subconscious. Always informing my work, guiding my composition, but rarely determining specific elements. Music also directs my work - bringing energy to bear on a piece. Often I can hear myself keeping time with a percussive beat, but again, it is only a suggestion, supplanting an idea, as my hand works layers of color and glaze. A final governance is the visceral and cerebral balance I draw upon from my experiences, travels and environment, coupled with time spent in the studio, a development that never has specific direction, but gleans from memories, dreams and emotions while permeating paint and panel. Sometimes adding, sometimes removing, but always exploring the simple act of painting.

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