Artist of the Day, March 10, 2021: Peter Shire, an American artist, environmental designer, industrial designer, sculptor (#1227)

 Peter Shire (1947) is a Los Angeles-based artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works. His sculpture, furniture and ceramics have been exhibited in the United States, Italy, France, Japan and Poland. Shire has been associated with the Memphis Group of designers, has worked on the Design Team for the XXIII Olympiad with the American Institute of Architects, and has designed public sculptures in Los Angeles and other California cities. Shire has been honored by awards for his contribution to the cultural life of the City of Los Angeles.

In 2019, Shire's work was showcased at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, Arizona.

A graduate of the famous Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, Peter Shire has an impressive exhibition record. In addition to many group shows, his works have been exhibited in numerous solo shows, in his hometown, Los Angeles, nationally and internationally in Milan, Paris, Tokyo and Sapporo. Shire’s works are in many public collections and museums in the U.S. and abroad. Shire is represented by Kayne Griffin Corcoran.

Peter Shire’s overt dismissal of being defined by a label clearly acknowledges his concern with opening an aesthetic dialogue free of preconceived norms and ideas. A comprehensive and updated understanding of the arts is an essential attribute of his artistic vision.

“If Leonardo were alive today he would probably be working at Cape Canaveral” the artist stated in an interview. Rejecting the limitations imposed by specific fields and “proper” techniques, Shire has transgressed the orderliness of painting or sculpture traditionally defined as the “fine arts” and has included fields such as ceramics, furniture, and toys that have been consistently marginalized by the modernist discourse.

Shire does not reject the rich heritage of twentieth century art, however, his art dismisses a facile linear trajectory and replaces nostalgic connotations with eclectic playfulness and subtle irony. Shire has challenged the rigidity of modernist vocabulary and has boldly articulated a novel languages defined by an unexpected visual dialogue between forms and surfaces and between technology and aesthetics. It is precisely this aspect of his art that has established him as one of the essential contributors to the postmodern critical debate.

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 Peter Shire

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the vessels collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

From the furniture collection

 From the environment collection

 From the environment collection

 From the environment collection

 From the environment collection

From the environment collection

From the environment collection

From the environment collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Sculpture collection

From the Memphis style collection

From the Memphis style collection

From the Memphis style collection

From the Memphis style collection

From the Memphis style collection

 From the Memphis style collection