- April 24, 2024
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Peter Cerreta likes to push the envelope. His paintings deal with human behavior and more often than not reflect his thoughts on politics and religion.
“I like my paintings not to match the couch, but to have something in it that people can identify with it,” he said while standing in his canvas-cluttered dining room, holding a painting entitled, “Rape of Europa,” a piece that has never been shown in a gallery before.
With a background in psychology, Cerreta advocates for art being a vehicle of expression for oneself.
Having been trained as a classical artist at Pratt Institute, Cerreta has a heavy concentration on technique in his painting; though, over the years, his realistic approach to art has morphed into an abstract derivation of his former style. His pieces encompass more of an expression of feeling as opposed to a duplication of the world in which we live.
“We make our environment by interweaving ourselves in the art — the world becomes alive, more meaningful,” Cerreta said.
In March, Hollingsworth Gallery will show a retrospective of Cerreta’s work.
“At 81 years old, it means a great, great deal for all the implied reasons,” Cerreta said about the show. “The curator, J.J. (Graham), is an excellent master at hanging a show. Because of him, the entire atmosphere is a piece of art.”
But for Graham, it was a no-brainer to show Cerreta’s work.
“He’s such an important figure at the gallery,” Graham said of the artist, who teaches classes in both painting and sculpting. “He really cares about his students and is an inspiration to me as a younger artist.”
Graham hopes that viewers will be able to see how Cerreta has developed over time as an artist not only through his use of colors, but also his message and most recently, his use of alternate materials. “He’s progressive in nature,” Graham said.
An opening reception will be held 6-9 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the gallery, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite 209B. Cerreta will also be the judge of the Flagler County Art League’s The People Show, the same night.
