Project Description
Peter Millett (b.1949)
b. 1949, Evanston, IL
A seasoned traveler, Peter Millett draws inspiration from his extensive trips through North America, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East; exploring their region specific architecture, native art forms, and handmade textiles. By paring down his observations, Millett creates sculptures that investigate geometry, shape, space, color, and surface. Working with the wood grain as a textural underpinning, the artist layers stain or paint to emphasize the history within each work. The works are not obviously referential of any one place, but instead are several places and moments distilled, allowing the viewer to bring their own memories and references to each piece.
EDUCATION
1973-1975
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1971
BFA Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND HONORS
2005
ESPY Foundation Residency Fellowship, Oysterville, WA
2000
Artist Trust Grant, Seattle, WA
1987
Betty Bowen Award Committee, Special Recognition Award, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
On Deck, Greg Kucera Gallery, (also 2012, 2010, 2006, 2004, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997,1993, 1992 )
2013
Anderson / Obrien Fine art, Omaha, Nebraska
2013
Chiaroscuro Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico (also 2011, 2010)
2012
Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington
2009
Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA, Opening Installation, curated by Barbara Matilsky
2008
Pulliam Gallery, Portland, OR
2003
Ochi Gallery, Ketchum, ID (also 1996, 1994)
2002
Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
1999
Allene Lapides Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1991
Gateway Tower Gallery, Seattle, WA
1990
Donnally Books, Seattle, WA (also 1984, 1986)
1990
SAFECO Corporation Plaza, Seattle, WA
1989
Wood Sculptures, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1988
Documents Northwest: The PONCHO Series, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; curated by Vicki Halper (catalog)
1983
Linda Farris Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1981)
1982
Grapestake Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1978
Illini, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
1976
Polly Friedlander Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1975)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016
Off the Wall: Sculpture that Hangs on the Wall, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Minimally Speaking, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2013
10 x 10 ,Mighty Tieton Gallery, Tieton, WA
2011
Henery Gallery, University of Washington
2010
Henery Gallery, University of Washington
2007
Elegantly Frugalà Deceptively Simple, Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR; curated by Josine Ianco-Starrells
2007
West Edge Sculpture Invitational, Downtown Seattle, WA; curated by Greg Robinson and Michael Darling
2007
Art Outside 2007, Webster Woods Art Park, Port Angeles Fine Art Center, Port Angeles, WA
2007
The Collection, Lee Center for the Arts, Hedreen Gallery, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
2005
West Edge Sculpture Invitational, Downtown Seattle, WA
2005
The Other Roadside Attraction, LaConner, WA, curated by Marita Holdaway
2000
2000: Going Forward, Looking Back, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, curated by Trevor Fairbrother
2000
Structure, Air Touch Cellular, Bellevue, WA; curated by Margery Aronson
2000
Planes of Colors, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998
Betty Bowen Award 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Washington State Convention and Trade Center, Seattle WA (catalog)
1997
Pure Form: The Intensity of Process, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR: curated by Beth Sellars (catalog)
1997
West Coast Painting and Sculpture 1997 (continuous slide presentation), Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
1996
Marking Time, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
1996
On Paper, In Wood, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA; curated by Barbara James
1995
The Traditional Impulse, Greg Kucera Gallery (catalog)
1995
Pinocchio: Sculpture Made of Carved and Painted Wood, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA; curated by Sean Elwood
1994
Introductions, Soma Gallery, San Diego, CA
1994
Drawings, Kirkland Arts Center, Kirkland, WA
1994
Fallen Timber, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; curated by Greg Bell (catalog)
1993
Between Black and White, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
1993
Editioned Objects, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
1992-1993
The Betty Bowen Legacy: Fourteen Years of Award Winning Art, Security Pacific Gallery, Seattle (catalog)
1990
Watercolor 3, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
1989
100 Years of Washington Art: New Perspectives, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (catalog)
1988
Contemporary Paintings, Prints and Drawings ’88, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Ishikawa, Japan
1988
Contemporary Survey: A Visible Presence in the Northwest, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA; curated by Beth Sellars
1987
Focus Seattle, San Jose Museum of Art, Son Jose, CA; curated by John Olbrantz
1987
Invitational Drawing Exhibition, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
1987
Bumberbiennale: Seattle Sculpture 1927-1987, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA; curated by Matthew Kangas
1987
West Coast Painters Invitational, University Gallery, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI
1987
Northwest Impressions, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; curated by Chris Bruce (catalog)
1986
Drawing Power, Lynn McAllister Gallery, Seattle, WA (catalog)
1985
Painted Structures, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; curated by Chris Bruce
1981
Portopia ’81, Kobe, Japan; curated by Richard Andrews for Port of Seattle
1981
Assemblages: The Private Icon, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (catalog)
1980
New Ideas #3, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; curated by Charles Cowles (catalog)
1980
Selections from the Museum’s Modern Art Collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1980
Cornish Faculty, Institute for Pedagogical Studies, Vladivostok, Siberia
1976
Works on Paper, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; curated by Charles Cowles (catalog)
1976
Exchanges, Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1976
Exchanges, Polly Friedlander Gallery, Seattle, WA
1976
A Christmas Show: Small Paintings, Drawings & Boxes, Polly Friedlander Gallery, Seattle, WA
COLLECTIONS
Boeing Corporation, Chicago, IL
PACCAR Corporation, Seattle, WA
City of Seattle, Seattle, WA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
Continental Bank, Chicago, IL
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMMISSIONS
2006
King County Regional Justice Center, Kent, WA; Perceptions wall-mounted sculpture
1999
Seattle Artists, Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, WA
1991
Exterior plaza sculpture, AT&T Gateway Tower, Seattle, WA
1986
Washington State Arts Commission, sculpture for Art in Public Places, Mountain View, WA
LECTURES, PUBLIC SPEAKING, AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1976-2013
Freelance TV News and Courtroom Artist, clients include: ABC, The AP, CBS, CNN, Getty Images, KCTS, KING, KIRO, KOMO, NBC, Reuters, Aljazeera
2009-2013
Drawing Workshops, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1993-1996
Sculpture Instructor, Cornish College of Art, Seattle, WA
1982-1986
Drawing Instructor, Cornish College of Art, Seattle, WA
1978-1980
Art Instructor, Cornish College of Art, Seattle, WA
1976-1977
Art Instructor, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA
1972
Art Instructor, Lake Forest Country Day School, Lake Forest, IL
Artsy Editorial: Six Sculptors Who Are Straddling Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism
Following the spread of the Minimalism movement in the 1960’s, its terminology has been applied across numerous practices, leading to an inevitable obscurity that some contemporary artists are willing to scrutinize. Minimally Speaking (on view at Bentley Gallery through March) highlights six such artists whose counteractions and homages challenge mid-century ideals. Their works – while aesthetically spare and modern – allude to traces of personal inspiration, rendering contemporary blends of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism.