Peter Wallis begins each work by recalling the walks he’s taken at dusk,
through his past and present neighborhoods. He collects ideas from
the surrounding environment, looking for scenes that might typically go
unnoticed. Wallis sketches and collages together these images, both
real and imagined. He brings places from different locations and periods
of time into the same space, creating an entirely new landscape. These
sketches later serve as references when Wallis creates the final paintings
in gouache and charcoal.

Wallis intends for this work to be thought-provoking. Each piece is built
from fragments of memories or dreams that evoke feelings of nostalgia
of an unfamiliar place. Many of the buildings present in Wallis’ paintings
no longer exist. Wallis’ paintings use a visual language of abandoned
buildings, figurines, dancers, and skeletons to convey the feeling of
being in a dream. The negative space left in many of his works provides
room for the viewer to draw personal connections, allowing their
own memories to contextualize the stories within each scene. Wallis
approaches each painting as if it were a scene from a play with no end,
seeking to create a unique landscape, in which the mundane is sacred.
Wallis has collaborated with artist J Theodore Bettcher to create interactive
versions of his work for this exhibition. On some of Wallis’ pieces, the pair
have created animations that use the viewer’s body motions, gestures,
and interactions to activate and engage with the work in live time. The
viewer’s movement triggers different parts of the animations embedded
in Wallis’ work.

Peter Wallis is an interdisciplinary artist based out of Fremont, CA.
He has worked with students throughout the country, teaching visual
arts at independent schools and nonprofit arts organizations. In 2006,
Wallis received his BFA in Illustration, with a double minor in Art History
and Drawing from the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME. In 2010, he
received his MFA from Goddard College with a focus on Printmaking,
Graphic Novels, and Peace Studies. Additionally, Wallis served as an artist
in residence in 2009, with Can Serrat, an international artist residency
located in the Montserrat Mountains of Catalonia, Spain. Wallis’ work
has been shown at the Putney School, Goddard College, Chaffee Art
Center, Oakland Art Library, the De Young Museum, and other galleries
in the U.S.