Sad news this morning, we’re sorry to hear of the passing, last week, of artist Peter A. Leigh. Peter, a rather prolific artist based in Kent (where he had been studying in Canterbury), had been a regular participant in Cultivate shows over the last couple of years, indeed he was a strong part of our most recent show Mixtape that opened earlier this month. Peter was always an enthusiastic pro-active participant in our shows, he always took a very full and committed part and we were always happy to invite him back for more. His art excited us, it will continue to excite us,  he was indeed a maximalist minimalist, a very brightly coloured one, personally I loved what he called “Geometric Abstraction”.       

“My work is at times paradoxical, utilising maximalist/minimalist aesthetics. I find various objects and defamiliarize their original state and in some cases reference abstract cubism and pop art. The focus and my usages of colour functionality in a fractured confinement, more recently boxed assemblages creating abstract pictorial dialogues. My investigations of found colour and abstract signs explores the effects of light and atmosphere on colour. There is a productive tension in the works sitting between abstraction suggesting formalism and a more sign-like abstraction that is found in this world which provides the means to defamiliarize objects (or the conventional supports). It becomes necessary to source alternative art materials and install work in non-traditional settings, bright colours of electrical tape in Andalucía reflect a bold crispness, or the south-east English coast where shorelines and changing sky tones affect the brilliance and depth of colour. I question my surroundings and by doing so discover new ways of creating and exploring how visual signs and symbols produce meaning”.

The details of Peter’s sad passing, and indeed the passing of his partner David, are not clear (and really none of our business). Composer. musician and artist Emily Peasgood posted on her social media “Heartbroken that two of my friends who were about to get married have died. One of Covid, one of a broken heart. You will be missed David and Péter xxx”

Our thoughts are with both Peter and David and indeed with their friends and family.

Today, we’d like to share some of Peter’s art and his colour here both in terms of a show of respect and a small celebration of the art of the artist Peter A Leigh. Thanks for everything Peter.   (sw)