Peter Hussey

Artist Info

Biography

Peter Hussey earned his B.A. in History with Distinction from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Babson College. He hasalso studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. Hussey spent sixteen years in the world of fundraising and institutional advancement with private schools, universities and hospitals. Since that time he has spent over ten years watercolor painting, focused in architectural perspectives of New England buildings, landscapes and marine scenes. He is also an artist/board member of the Art League of Rhode Island. Peter writes: "Originally from Michigan, I spent summers visiting southern Rhode Island, and was happy to relocate my wife Claire, daughter, Rachel and son, Sam to Aquidneck Island in 1990."

Style

Peter Hussey creates large scale watercolors that focus on architectural detail. His works are beautifully crisp images of doorways, rooftops, cupolas, etc. His work, though not photorealist, is firmly rooted in 20th century Realism.

Statement

“In conversations about my painting, I regularly volunteer that I am a frustrated architect, and viewers of my work rarely disagree. American architecture, in particular, has called to me—for its exquisite simplicity, made all the more becoming by the handsome details applied to “dress it up”. Moldings, turrets, weather vanes, cupolas, widows walks, gables, porches, trellises not to mention the wonderful clash of materials that accompany them—slate, cedar, stone, clapboards, tin, brick, copper, stained glass—offer interesting combinations that when handled in the light of different times of day are endless in their richness and variety. Because many of the best architectural specimens in Rhode Island and New England occupy marvelously landscaped settings on the coast, I have also paid attention organic material, the sea, and the sky. These places, the man-made objects and the natural settings they in habit have taught me to see. With this enhanced awareness, special scenes - trucks full of pumpkins, frost on windows, tires in the snow - have recealed themselces and summonded me to look even closer for exceptional images to capture. As a watercolor painter with no formal artistic training, the exploration of art history has had a tremendous influence on my work, encouraging me to place more emphasis on imagery than polemics. Argument in painting, in fact, has always seemed to me to be unnecessary. Beautiful colors and shapes can be brought together to create angst, tension or even dyspepsia, but when the same colors and shapes are used to create a more positive or thoughtful experience, my reaction is why not? Getting my paintings to shout hatred, racism or mean-spiritedness might be a more accurate reflection of the world today. I have chosen instead, perhaps like those who decorated their caves at Lascaux, to put adornment first. We all yearn to spend more time in the grip of the sublime. That my work might nudge a viewer in the direction is modest hope. My paintings then are meant to be pleasing to look at, and at the same time intellectually stimulating. For some, they are what they are – a window, a roofline, a door ajar. For others, owing to a large degree to my use of close perspective, they are thoughtful abstractions of lines and surfaces caught in the push and pull between what’s near and what’s far away. I elevate the simplicity of the subject, but invite my viewers to reach their own conclusions.”

Honors

Hussey has won the following commissions: 1st Place in Watercolor, 19th Annual Members' Juried Exhibition, Newport Art Museum, 2006 Rhode Island Coastal Triptych Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2000 Duraghon Manor, Home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Signer Gift for Direct Decendant Still Occupying the property 1999 Camp Headquarters Fleur de Lis Camp Capital Development Campaign 1998 St. Michael's School, View from the East, Honorarium for Retiring President of St. Michael's School Board of Trustees June 1997

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