Peter Eastman (artist)


Peter Eastman is a South African artist who lives and works in Cape Town.

Early life and family

Eastman grew up in Johannesburg and Cape Town, where he is based.

Career

Eastman is best known for a distinctive monochromatic style. Images held in shallow relief depictions remain nearly invisible until the spectator is positioned correctly for light to throw the images into relief, reflecting changing tone and colour. This technique was probably most successfully used in his monumental “Horse”, 2005.
In 2007, Eastman presented 'Supernature' at Cape Town gallery whatiftheworld. The naturalistic, rich and startling large-scale series of enamel and acrylic paintings on aluminium sheets, depicted the portraits of various owl species relating to themes of superstition and luck.
In 2010, Eastman exhibited a series of black portraits at Primo Marella gallery in Milan, Italy, curated by Yacouba Konaté.
Eastman was selected alongside 17 International artists to produce a poster for The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Later that year the work was auctioned at Phillips de Pury in New York City.
In 2014 Eastman presented "Deep Chine", an exhibition of atmospheric, contemplative and ambient forest-scapes. Based on photographs from his family farm, Eastman disassembles the image and reconstitutes it to form an entirely new picture which bears a vague semblance to the original, but for the viewer there is an uncanny familiarity and connection to the content, which is suffused with opaque moods and dreamlike memory.

Selected solo exhibitions

2014
Deep Chine, Smac Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Buried in black and white, WHATIFTHEWORLD gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2010
Life is short, WHATIFTHEWORLD gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2010
For the term of their natural lives, CO-OP gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2009
Peter Eastman Landscapes, Aardklop National arts festival, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2008
Shadow Paintings, Obert contemporary, Johannesburg, South Africa
Supernature, WHATIFTHEWORLD gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2007
Black Paintings, Obert Contemporary, Johannesburg, South Africa
2004
ReflectiveStevenson gallery, Cape Town, South Africa