Biography - Joseph Peller

About Joseph Peller Joseph Peller's paintings, works on paper, and sculpture explore the haunting notions of isolation and ambivalence inherent in his images of individuals caught in the unnoticed rituals of modern urban life. The artist prefers working from life using a small circle of friends, and occasionally himself, as objects of exploration. His sketchbook drawings and oil studies, done "in situ," seek the "essential incident" which he supplements with his visual memory to inform the development of his larger work. Peller enjoys experimenting with a wide range of pure and mixed techniques involving oil, pastel, various printmaking procedures, drawing and sculpture. The artist has exhibited in solo exhibitions in New York and Toronto, and has participated in group exhibitions in the United States and Canada and Europe. Peller's work has received recognition in national exhibitions and mention in several publications including The New York Times, New York News Day, The Wall Street Journal, and American Artist Magazine. He is the recipient of the Alden Bryan Memorial, the Dr. David Soloway Memorial Award, the Len G. Everett Award, and the National Sculpture Society Award for Figurative Sculpture. He has taught at the New York Academy of Art and currently teaches Painting and Composition at the Art Students League of New York. Born in Toronto in 1953, Peller's independent development has generally favored private affiliation with artists whose body of work shared common themes with his personal vision. Initially, he studied with A.K. Scott, a Canadian artist and pupil of the distinguished American painters Charles W. Hawthorne, and George Bellows. While still in high school he received a scholarship from the Banff School of Fine Arts to study drawing with Geo Glyde. During formal study at the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto, he maintained a private liaison with Canadian painters Kenneth Forbes and Cleve Horne. His development continued in New York working with noted artists Thomas Fogarty, Jr., and Hilary Holmes at the Art Students League, and Ron Sherr at the National Academy of Design. During this time he received a Revson Foundation Grant from the Art Students League of New York, in 1985. Joseph Peller is represented in public, corporate, and private collections in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Currently, he lives in New York City where he works out of his Brooklyn Navy Yard studio on the East River waterfront. Download PDF version of Resume. Selected Solo Exhibitions
2010	Complimentary Themes: A Journey from Metropolis to Mountain Hamlet, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2008	Surviving the Darkness, Urban Fragments, ACA Galleries, New York New York 2008

2008	In the Light, the City Transfigured , Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2005	Sunrise, Sunset – the City , Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2004	Metropolis, Myth and Destiny, ACA galleries, New York, NY

2003	Intermezzo, The Roberts Gallery, Toronto Canada

2002	The Essential Moment: A Survey of Paintings, Works on Paper, and Sculpture, Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, Fairfield University, Fairfield CT

2002	Songs Without Words, Rittenhouse Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA

2001	Spirits of Place, The Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2001	Urban Interludes, The Cultural Exchange Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

1999	Hidden Seams: Modern City Life Observed, Solo Exhibition, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1998	Unnoticed Rituals, First Street Gallery, New York, NY

1997	Variations on Urban Themes, Art Gallery Conference Center, Fairfield University Fairfield, CT

1997	Urban Ether Joseph Peller Recent Work, First Street Gallery, New York, NY

1994	Women with Attitude, First Street Gallery New York, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions
2009	New York: Then and Now, ACA Galleries, New York NY

2009	Humanity: 100 years of Figurative Painting, ACA Galleries, New York, NY

2007	Into the Heart of the Southwest: 20 Painters Interpret the Forbes Trinchera Ranch , The Forbes Gallery, New York, NY

2006	"Why the Nude", Art Students League, New York, NY

2006	International Fine Art Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany

2006	Splash: Artists' Reflection on Water, ACA Galleries, New York, NY

2005	Continuum, ACA Galleries, New York, NY

2004	Allied Arts of America 91st Annual Exhibition, New York, NY

2004	Love, The Art Students League of New York at Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York, NY

2003	Small & Everlasting, ACA Galleries, New York, NY

2003	Cast Art 4, Curated Sculpture Exhitition, Dusseldorf, Germany

2002	Art of the 20th Century, New York, NY

2001	The Discerning Eye, Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, New York, NY

2001	Allied Artists of America at The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH

1999	30/30 Thirty Works By Arts Students League Alumni, A Juried Exhibition, New York, NY, New York, NY

1997	Urban Landscape Five New York Painters, Curated Group Show Sponsored by the Marine Midland Bank & Organization of Independent Artists, New York, NY

1996	Art and the Law 1996, Traveling Exhibition, Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing MI, University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa OK, Miami University Art Museum, Oxford OH

1996	The 25th Juried Show, Juror: Susan Krane, Curator High Museum of Art, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown PA

1995	National Works on Paper 125th Anniversary Exhibition, Curator: Catherine Valenza Director, Islip Art Museum, St. John's University, New York, NY

1994	National Academy of Design 169th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design Museum, National Juried Show, New York, NY

Selected Awards
2006	The Alden Bryan Memorial Award, 93rd Annual Exhibition Allied Artist of America, National Arts Club

2000	The Dr. David Soloway Memorial Award, New York

1994	The Len G. Everett Memorial Award, New York

1992	National Sculpture Society Award for Figurative Sculpture, New York

1985	Revson Foundation Grant, Art Students League, New York

Selected Publications
2010	"Classical Life Drawing Studio", Sterling Publishing Co., New York, London, 2010.

2008	"The Self in Contemporary Self-Portraits", Ephraim Rubinstein, American Artist Magazine, New York NY, October 2008.
	"Joseph Peller, Surviving the Darkness", Joshua Rose, The American Art Collector, Scottsdale AZ, September 2008.

2007	"Painters Interpret the Forbes Trinchera Ranch" , by M. Stephen Doherty, American Artist Magazine, New York, NY

2006	On the Cover, Kate F. Hays, American Psychologist, Washington, DC

2005	Talent Spotting at the Art Students League Anniversary Exhibitions, American Art Collector, Scottsdale, AZ

2004	Art and Antiques, September 2004: “Gallery Watch”, Atlanta

2001	Printmaking in the Sun, Dan Weldon, Pauline Muir, Watson-Guptill, New York, NY

2001	A Moment in Time, Jennifer Cushman, Scottsdale Life July 2001, Scottsdale, AZ

1998	Joseph Peller: Paintings, Works on Paper, Sculpture, "Joseph Peller: Romantic Myth, Realism, and Aestheticism" catalogue essay by Dr. Diana Mille New York, NY

1997	Four from America, Dr. Martin H. Schmidt, Thetis Vol. IV, Mannheim University, Mannheim, Germany

1996	Art and the Law 1996, West Publishing, Eagan, MN 1996

1995	The New York Times, "75 Statements About Women's Bodies in a Didactic Exhibition", April 2 1995, New York NY.

Selected Public and Corporate Collections
• Allentown Art Museum, PA • Andrew Peller Ltd., Canada • Bessemer Trust, San Francisco, CA • Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C. • The Forbes Collection, New York, NY • Imperial Oil Ltd., Canada • R. D. Lerner Securities Inc., New York • Pomboy Brokers Ltd., New York • International Business Management, Beverly Hills, CA • Roy Fund Equity Ltd., Toronto • Connoisseur Financial Inc., Toronto • Simms Capital Management Ltd., New York • Deleet Merchandising Corporation, New Jersey • Phillip H. Carter, Architect, Toronto • Private collections in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Special Projects and Commissions
2006	Residency at the Forbes Trinchera Ranch as guest of American Artist Magazine and Christopher Forbes painting in the Southwest landscape creating a suite of paintings on the ever-changing moods of the Forbes Trinchera Ranch.

2002	Collaboration with Ms. Elizabeth Hainen, the Principal Harp of The Philadelphia Orchestra which inspired a series of paintings of Ms. Hainen in rehearsal with the orchestra at The Academy of Music including Brilliant Harp featured on Ms. Hainen's CD release of the same name.

1993	St. George Project - Variations on a Fantastic Theme Toronto Public Library. A series of site specific architectural sculpture design proposals for Philip Carter Architect using scale drawings and 3D working models.

1992	Sangue Latino - A collaboration in a series of paintings for the choreographer Fausto Matias depicting the performer in rehearsals. Mr. Matias' project was recognized by a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in 1993.

Teaching and Lectures
2001-present	Art Students League of New York, Instructor, Painting and Composition, New York, NY

1998-2003	New York Academy of Art: Instructor, Painting Composition From Life, New York, NY

1994	Mount Holyoke College: Invited to give slide lecture on work to faculty and senior students and to review senior work as a guest critic