Painting Subjects
These photorealistic works are visually compelling; often bearing witness to historical evidence of grotesque mistreatment of people by governments, societies, and systemic classism. His earlier work exposed totalitarian regimes, raising political and moral questions with regard to third-world military governments. These hyper-real depictions were often seen as a legacy of hatred and intolerance.
Visually disturbing subjects of this iconoclastic artist have been statuesque figures and stoic faces painted in an eerily and deafening hyper-reality. His subjects are universally depicted with an internalized calm in the face of the surrounding horrors of deadly disease, impending torture, terrorizing fear, and irrational hatred.
Thematically, Peterson's hyper-realist works are presented in series. Many of his provocative paintings have confronted the human condition. "This instance of hyperrealism is a performance art. Viewers are deliberately made to notice the amazing amount of time and painstaking effort that went into portraying this. Peterson isn't showing off; he is a radical painter, compelling us with his dedication. The astonishing realism is in the context of reflected light from every other object in the scene. Western artists such as David, da Vinci and Denis Peterson are important in part because of their skill and innovation, but also because they come from cultures that dominate the modern global power scene. Renaissance painters catered to emerging capitalism, the sons in David’s painting “Oath of the Horati” symbolize French colonies, and Peterson’s Darfur painting, “Don’t Shed No Tears” provokes America to intervene with her wealth."
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