Explore the artwork of Robert Peterson at his debut solo exhibition hosted at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. In 13 life-scale oil on canvas figurative paintings, you'll see how Peterson aims to capture time through his art, highlighting Black family life as joyous, loving, and balanced. Peterson strives to shed light on the strength, resilience, and gentleness of the Black community that is hardly ever showcased.
Peterson’s works explore the mundane as a radical act of visibility for Black Americans, honing his work to focus on the Black family and drawing from his own experiences. Peterson’s monumental oil on canvas paintings depict Black individuals as both ordinary and regal, replacing iconographic regalia with the quotidian, and reframing embellished “crowns” with du-rags and jeans. His works are homages to the quiet heroism of daily life and challenge the politicized gaze upon Black people. His figures’ skin tones are rendered in rich polychrome: a joyous and exuberant expression of love of Black skin.
