Kevin Peterson was born in 1979 in Elko, Nevada. After a childhood which included stints in Nevada, Michigan and Washington, Kevin arrived in Texas in 1996. He studied art and psychology at Austin College in Sherman, TX. He received degrees in Fine Art and Psychology in 2001.
Kevin Peterson was the recipient of the Hunting Art Prize in 2015 for his painting titled, “Fire”
Kevin Peterson’s artwork titled “Coalition II” was the cover art for the album “The Getaway “, the eleventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Kevin has shown work in galleries and Museums throughout the world. He now makes his home in Houston, TX where he works out of Winter Street Studios.
Artist Statement:
.My work explores the varied journeys we take through life—growing up and learning how to exist within a broken world. These figurative oil paintings address trauma, fear, and loneliness, as well as the resilience required to survive and ultimately thrive. Each painting places untainted, youthful figures against worn, ragged, and defiled environments, emphasizing the juxtaposition between innocence and corruption.
My young subjects often walk alongside wild animals in an unexpected alliance. These animals serve as symbols of companionship and protection, while also carrying an undercurrent of tension and unease. Themes of support versus restraint, bondage versus freedom, and tension versus slack recur throughout the work. The paintings grapple with isolation, longing, and vulnerability, yet are grounded in a quiet sense of hope. Ultimately, my work considers rigid boundaries, the possibility of their dissolution, and the unseen forces that shape and orchestrate human behavior.
Notable Shows and Awards:
2021, Habitat (solo show), Thinkspace Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2020, Embers (solo show) ,Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA
2019, Gaia Reborn: A Future Utopia, Urban Nation, Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (Group Show)
2019, Annual Moleskin Project, SPOKE Art, San Francisco, Ca
2019, Wild (solo show), Thinkspace Galley, Culver City, CA
2017- Moniker Art Fair London, “New Works by Kevin Peterson”, London, UK
2017-Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, “Flourish”, Mesa, AZ
2016- Thinkspace Gallery, solo show entitled “Sovereign”. Los Angeles, CA
2015- Hunting Art Prize *Winner
2015- ArtNow NY, “Urbanology”, New York, NY
2015- Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, “20 Years Under the Influence of Juxtapoz” Los Angeles, CA
2014 – Thinkspace Gallery, solo show entitled “Remnants”, Los Angeles, CA
2014- The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, “Get Real: New American Painting”, Jacksonville, FL
2014 - Tinney Contemporary, “The New Real II”, Nashville, TN
2014- “Saints and Sinners” group show at Stolenspace Gallery, London, UK
2014- TXL/LAX, Project M4, Berlin, Germany
2014- SCOPE NYC, New York, NY
2014- POW! WOW! Hawaii, Exploring the New Contemporary Art Movement, Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
2013- Scope Miami Beach, Thinkspace Gallery, Miami, FL
2013, Shooting Gallery, Solo Show entitled “Merge Visible”, San Francisco, CA
2013, SCOPE Basel with Modernbook Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
2013, Gallery 309, Group Show entitled, “LAX/PHL”, Philadelphia, PA
2013, Lyons Wier Gallery, Group show entitled, “Returning Reality”, New York, NY
2012, Thinkspace Gallery, Solo show entitled, “Amended”, Los Angeles, CA
2012, Shooting Gallery, Solo show entitled “Prospective”, San Francisco, CA
2012, Hunting Art Prize Finalist, Houston, TX
2011, C.A.V.E. Gallery, Solo Show entitled “Provenance”, Venice, CA
2011, Colton Farb Gallery, Group show entitled “Use Your Illusion”, Houston, TX
2011, Hunting Art Prize Finalist, Houston, TX
2009, Lawndale Art Center, “The Big Show”, Houston, TX
2009, Parlor Gallery, Group Show entitled “Rare Pleasures”, Asbury Park, NJ
2009, Nau-Haus Art space, Solo Show entitled “Boundaries”, Houston, TX
Publications
Pricco, Evan: “A New Kind of Getaway”, Juxtapoz Magazine, September 2016, n188, p. 18
Juxtapoz : Hyperreal, Ginko Press, Inc, Berkeley, CA 2014, p.144-149
Gangelhoff, Bonnie: Kevin Peterson, Children in the City”, Southwest Art, Volume 42, no. 8, January 2013, p. 20
Houston Modern Luxury, Cover, December 2011
Blue Canvas, Cover, Volume 9, August 2011
Schmal, Jody: “On the Make”, Houston Modern Luxury, December 2010, p.66
Hoerth, Kristin: “A Busy Month”, Southwest Art, Volume 38, no. 10, March 2009, p.23
Online:
http://www.juxtapoz.com/Current/preview-kevin-peterson-qamendq-thinkspace-culver-city
http://hifructose.com/2012/10/23/preview-jacub-gagnon-and-kevin-peterson-at-thinkspace/
http://hifructose.com/2011/07/15/provenance-solo-exhibition-by-kevin-peterson/