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.
He 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.
Peller 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.
Peller's independent development has been influenced by private affiliation and study with individual artists. Initially, he studied with Canadian artist A.K. Scott, a pupil of the distinguished American painters Charles W. Hawthorne, and George Bellows. During formal study at the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto, he maintained a private liaison with Canadian artists 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. He received a Revson Foundation Grant from the Art Students League of New York.
2016 - Awarded a four-week printmaking residency at the Guanlan Printmaking Base in Guanlan China as a guest of the People's Republic of China where the artist completed several etching editions including a colour edition.
2013 - Awarded a four-week printmaking residency at the Guanlan Printmaking Base in Guanlan China as a guest of the People's Republic of China where the artist completed several etching editions
2006 - The Alden Bryan Award, New York, NY
2003 - Southeastern Pastel Society Award, 31st New York, NY
2000 - The Dr. David Soloway Memorial Award, New York, NY
1994 - The Len G. Everett Memorial Award, New York, NY
1992 - National Sculpture Society Award for Figurative Sculpture, New York, NY
1985 - Revson Foundation Grant, The Art Students League, New York, NY
Selected Publications
2018 - The Hedgehog Review Critical Reflections on Contemporary Culture, Summer 2018 do women exist, volume 20 number two , Institute for advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2016 - The Hedgehog Review Critical Reflections on Contemporary Culture, Spring 2016, Volume 18 Number One, Institute for advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2015 - 5th Guanlan international Print Biennial Catalogue, Guanlan Art Museum, People's Republic of China
2014 - "Joseph Peller at ACA Galleries", Mona Molarsky, Artnews Summer 2014, New York, New York
2013 - Span and Dialogue American Contemporary Print Exhibition, Guanlan Printmaking Base, with an introduction by Prof. Hugh J Merrill, Kansas City Art Institute, Guanlan, China
2010 - "Classical Life Drawing Studio", Sterling Publishing Co., New York, London, 2010.
2008 - "Joseph Peller, Surviving the Darkness", Joshua Rose, The American Art Collector, Scottsdale AZ, September 2008
2008 - The Self in Contemporary Self-Portraits", Ephraim Rubinstein, American Artist Magazine, New York NY, October
2007 - “20 Painters Interpret the Forbes Trinchera Ranch”, by M. Stephen Doherty, American Artist Magazine, New York, NY
2006 - On the Cover, Kate H. Hays, American Psychologist, Washington, DC
2005 - Talent Spotting at the Art Students League Anniversary Exhibitions, American Art Collector, Scottsdale, AZ
2004 - Gallery Watch, Art & Antiques, New York, NY
2001 - Printmaking in the Sun, Dan Welden, Watson Guptill, New York, NY
2001 - Artful Diversions, Jennifer Cushman, Scottsdale Life, 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
1997 - Urban Landscape – Five New York Painters, OIA, New York, NY
1996 - Art and the Law 1996, West Publishing, Eagan, MN
1994 - The New York Times, "75 Statements About Women's Bodies in a Didactic Exhibition", April 2, New York, NY
1994 - Women with Attitude, exhibition essay by Jeanne de Saint Ouen, New York, NY
1994 - New York News Day, "Ladies' Day." 11 March, New York, NY
1992 - The Express Times, "...Exhibits Could Warm Up Spirits", 17 Jan., Allentown, PA
Teaching, Lectures, and Seminars
2001 to present - Art Students League of New York, New York, NY
1998 – 2003 - New York Academy of Art, Painting and Composition from Life, New York, NY
1994 - Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA, Invited to give a slide lecture on his work to faculty and senior students and to review senior work as a guest critic
St. George Project - Toronto Public Library, 1993
- Two mythical griffins flanking the library entrance
Sangue Latino - Choreographer Fauso Matias, 1992
- Series of paintings revealing the performers in rehearsal
Chants - A Play by Kevin Land, 1992
- Designed & constructed large statue of a gargoyle for set
2014 - A Variegated Light, the City, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2014 - Circadian Rhythms of the City, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2012 - Urban Apparitions, Roberts Gallery Toronto
2010 - Complementary Themes: a Journey from Metropolis to Mountain Hamlet, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2008 - Surviving the Darkness, ACA Galleries New York, NY
2008 - Into the Light, the City Transfigured, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2005- Sunrise, Sunset – the City, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2004 - Metropolis, Myth and Destiny, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2003 - Intermezzo, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2002 - The Essential Moment, The Walsh Gallery at Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT
2002 - Songs without Words, Rittenhouse Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
2001 - Spirits of Place, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2001 - Urban Interludes, The Cultural Exchange Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1999 - Hidden Seams: Modern City Life Observed, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
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 — Recent Work, First Street Gallery, New York, NY
1994 - Women with Attitude, First Street Gallery, New York, NY
2022 - Figurative Pop Up Show, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2020 - Ink: New Prints, curated by Laura Einstein Curator of Prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Site, Brooklyn Gallery, New York, NY
2020 - Track Work, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2019 - Solar impressions, Southhampton Museum, South Hampton, NY
2019 - Music is the message, ACA galleries, New York, NY
2007 , 2018 - Artists Choice, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2017 - 150th Anniversary Exhibition Roberts Gallery, Roberts Gallery Toronto
2015 - 5th Guanlan international Print Biennial China 2015, Guanlan, China
2015 - Allied Artists of America, 100 years, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio
2015 - Span and Dialogue, American Contemporary Print Exhibition, Guanlan Printmaking Base, Guanlan, China
2011 - 98th National Juried Exhibition Allied Artists of America, National Arts Club, New York, NY
2009 - New York: Then and Now, ACA Galleries, New York NY
2009 - Humanity: 100 years of Figurative Painting, ACA Galleries, New York NY
2008 - 97th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition, Pasadena Museum of Art, Pasadena, CA
2007 - Into the Heart of the Southwest: 20 Painters Interpret the Forbes Trinchera Ranch, The Forbes Gallery, New York, NY
2007 - Allied Artist of America, Invitational show at Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
2007 - 13th Annual Sketches Show, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2006 - Art Toronto, Roberts Gallery, Toronto
2006 - Why the Nude, Contemporary Approaches, Art Students League, New York, NY
2006 - 12th Annual Sketches Show, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2006 - Splash: Artist’s Reflection on Water, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2006 - International Fine Art Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany
2005 - Continuum, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2003 - Small and Everlasting, ACA Galleries, New York, NY
2003 - Pastel Society of America at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2003 - Cast Art 4, Curated Cast Sculpture Exhibition, Dusseldorf, Germany, June 2003
2001 - Allied Artists of America at The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1999 - 30/30 Thirty Works by Art Students League Alumni, A Juried Exhibition, 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, Travelling 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
1992 - Twenty-Third Juried Show, Curator: Cheryl Brutvan, Curator, Albright Knox Gallery, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA
Allentown Art Museum, PA
Andres Wines 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.
ACA Galleries New York, New York
Roberts Gallery Toronto, Canada