Peter Eastman Launches New Works at the Pot Luck Gallery in Woodstock
Inspired largely by early man fossil sites like Sterkfontein in South Africa, the first exhibition at The Pot Luck Gallery in Woodstock is a collection of semi-abstracted and reinterpreted landscapes.
A self-taught artist, Cape Town-based painter Peter Eastman has spent time restoring antiquities and has exhibited locally and internationally in galleries and at high profile art fairs. His work has been seen around Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy.
The collection of works he is exhibiting at The Pot Luck Club & Gallery, Buried in Black and White, takes its title from the main painting triptych which features prominently. It depicts a path in a forest running past a fossil site where the sedimentary layers of rock have been exposed by natural weathering. Fragments lie strewn across the path which recedes into the distance.
Peter explains that the process of making the painting mimicked, to some extent, the process of the burial and subsequent revealing of fossils over time due to the weathering process. He began with a dark enamel colour, wiping the paint off with rags before it had dried, causing the landscape to appear. The white areas of the image were created by combining polyester resin and oil paint. The surface of the raised resin repelled the enamel paint so that as he wiped off the top layer the white areas were revealed. And so the work took shape as he removed and added further layers and texture.
The other paintings in the exhibition relate to the same themes of burial and revelation and the subsequent abstraction in part or whole.
While some of the works form part of an older series, the triptych is recent and marks a new direction for the artist.
“These works were created with the space in mind. What has been nice in creating works for this space is the feeling of being a bit more free to experiment than with a regular gallery show. As a result some of the works are quite different.”
He adds that exhibiting in a restaurant setting makes a change from seeing artwork in a clinical gallery space. “What is interesting is that you get to have your senses stimulated. Visual, taste, texture etc. I have also found there are similarities in the process of creating the food and creating art. And as paintings will describe and evoke through visual elements, some of the dishes will attempt to evoke moods or places through flavour, taste and texture.”
The idea behind letting the restaurant double as a gallery began to develop when Luke Dale-Roberts and his wife Sandalene, who will curate the exhibitions, realised that the art in The Test Kitchen next door was sparking interest among patrons and staff.
“We thought it would be great to build on the idea and create a space that was both food and art gallery where people would have the time to stop and take it all in,” she says. “Art is a medium for creative expression and so is food, so why not let the two go hand in hand?”
The restaurant setting also makes it possible for diners to be able to sit for a while and experience the paintings slowly and at different times of the day allowing the changing light to interact with the works.
“Pete’s art is exciting and modern and it works well with the space, but on the other hand the industrial design of the space could work beautifully with some classic pieces so we are keen not to pigeon hole any particular genre at this time,” says Sandalene.
In the coming months guests can look forward to a varied selection of work by local artists.
The Pot Luck Club & Gallery is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday inclusive. For booking enquiries, call (27) (21) 447 0804 or email reservations@thepotluckclub.co.za
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