Peter Pearson is best known for his evocative paintings of urban landscapes. The city, its degeneration and regeneration, the haunting beauty of old buildings and industrialised ports are his favourite themes in an unusual combination of the nostalgic and the contemporary. Concrete and steel features of the metropolis are softened and romanticised by the effects of mist or dusk, snow, belching smoke or moonlight and some of his nocturnes are reminiscent of Whistler’s London. Pearson has occasionally made use of aerial photography and taken helicopter rides over the city to discover new perspectives.
Born in Dublin, Pearson studied History of Art at Trinity College, winning a painting scholarship to Venice, and the subsequent award of a scholarship to the École des Beaux Arts, Paris, in 1980. He has exhibited widely, with solo shows in Venice, Mannheim, Caen, Rome, London and in Dublin at Guinness Hop Store, Malton Gallery, Dublin Castle, James Adam Salerooms and The Frederick Gallery.
A lifelong passion is reflected in his books on the architectural heritage of the capital and in his prominence in a series of campaigns to preserve its landmarks.
The Pearson family moved to Wexford five years ago and are involved quite literally in the fabric of cultural life by making a workroom available in their home for local embroiderers to create two panels of the magnificent Ross Tapestries.
Purchasers of Peter Pearson’s work include; Irish Life, E.S.B., Guinness Hop Store, I.B.I., First National Building Society, Hibernian Insurance, O.P.W.(for Farmleigh and Dublin Castle), Dublin Corporation, Irish Toll Roads, An Taisce, National Maritime Museum, Ryan Hotels, Toyota (Ireland) Ltd.,and public and private collections in Ireland and abroad.
Peter Pearson Bio (click to view)
