WorkArt & Culture

Growing up in a world that is broken

Texas artist Kevin Peterson caught our attention this morning. His work is about "the varied journeys we take through life. It’s about growing up and living in a world that is broken".

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Young child in winter hat and coat standing against a concrete pillar covered in colourful graffiti beneath an urban bridge

These paintings are about trauma, fear and loneliness and the strength that it takes to survive and thrive. They each contain the contrast of the untainted, young and innocent against a backdrop of a worn, ragged, and defiled world. Support versus restraint, bondage versus freedom, and tension versus slack are all themes that Kevin often visits.

He said: "My work deals with isolation, loneliness and longing teamed with a level of optimistic hope. Issues of race and the division of wealth have arisen in my recent work. This work deals with the idea of rigid boundaries, the hopeful breakdown of such restrictions, as well as questions about the forces that orchestrate our behaviour."

Kevin studied art at Austin College in Sherman, TX where he received his BFA in 2001. Kevin now makes his home in Houston, TX where he works from Winter Street Studios.

Young girl in a floral dress standing on overgrown railway tracks before a brick wall mural featuring a rooster and colourful graffiti art
A child with reddish hair wearing a black-and-white striped shirt holds their arm across their face against a vibrant turquoise and pink mural with black graphic elements
Young woman with reddish-blonde hair standing against a vibrant street mural of lime green and black abstract shapes, hand raised to her face.
Young girl in striped dress standing before a mural featuring a large face and abstract black markings on a weathered wall
Woman in striped dress walking past weathered green wall with black graffiti and overgrown weeds
Portrait of a young person in red tones with hands framing their face against a dark striped background, conveying isolation and vulnerability
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