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Peter Schenck
"Strengths and Weaknesses", acrylic, charcoal, art history, abstract, portrait

2018

About the Item

"Strengths and Weaknesses" is a portrait exploring several elements and strategies that fascinate the artist – notably the performance anxiety induced by simply being an artist, staring down the freight train of art history as it hurtles toward you every time you pick up a brush. Luck? Talent? Maybe. There are signposts and guides in this painting, of course (Cubism! Surrealism! Brancusi! Guston!), but they can clobber you too if you're not careful. Even the phrase "strengths and weaknesses" smacks of compromises and rationalization – deadly to an artist looking to construct their own integral world. "Strengths and Weaknesses" is an acrylic and charcoal on canvas measuring 54" tall by 54" wide. It was included in the artist's solo show "Comedy Cellar" at Freight + Volume Gallery, New York City in July 2018. (See last photograph for an installation view.) From Daniel Gerwin – "Schenck’s color is vibrant, wild, saturated to the point of overheating, and altogether brilliant in the balancing of hues, temperatures, shapes, and color quantities. The paintings have a remarkable coherence for their dizzying juxtaposition of so many small chromatic passages." (Essay: The Anxiety and the Ecstasy) Peter Schenck lives and paints in Brooklyn, NY.  He received his BFA from Boston University (2006) and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (2009). Schenck has exhibited his work internationally and nationally, including Tales of Art Gallery (Imola, Italy), Sebastien Adrien Gallery (Paris, France), Freight + Volume Gallery (New York, NY), BravinLee Programs (New York, NY), Andrew Edlin Gallery (New York, NY), The Dot Project Gallery (London, UK), Arts + Leisure Gallery (New York, NY), Lesley Heller Workspace (New York, NY), The Delaware Contemporary Museum (Wilmington, DE), Tyler School of Art (Philadelphia, PA), Vox Populi Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), TSA Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Victori + Mo Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Airlock Gallery (San Marcos, CA), HOLA Fresh Start (Santa Monica, CA), and The Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science, and Technology (Santa Barbara, CA). Further, he has been an artist in residence at The Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT) and the DNA Residency (Provincetown, MA). Schenck has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Timeout New York, Juxtapoz, Two Coats of Paint, Battery Journal, #FFFFFF Walls, Painting is Dead Blog, and Elephant Magazine.
  • Creator:
    Peter Schenck (1660 - 1711)
  • Creation Year:
    2018
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 54 in (137.16 cm)Width: 54 in (137.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Toronto, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU134527237422
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