The artwork of retiring John Brown University visual arts professor Charles Peer will be on display in an exhibit titled "And then I saw..." at the Windgate Visual Arts West Gallery starting on March 27.
Peer has served as a visual arts professor at the university for the past 31 years. He helped grow the university's visual arts program from six students in 1990 to more than 200 students majoring in four different areas. He plans to retire at the end of the spring semester.
The exhibit will kick off with an opening reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, with a gallery talk at 6:30 p.m. It will continue to be open through May 3.
The 45 pastel paintings in the exhibit celebrate the simple beauty in scenes in or around Siloam Springs, with the exception of two that were created during a trip to Europe. All of them were created since JBU's last faculty show in November of 2016. The most recent painting, depicting a scene from Benton Street, was completed just a few days ago.
"There are a lot of interesting things here," Peer said. "We may not have the grand mountains that you oftentimes see but we have a beautiful little community. I love it here. In some ways its just sort of celebrating the simple things around us."
Peer said his painting style is not literal. He said he is more interested in making poetry than documenting a scene. On each of the gallery tags, Peer has labeled the location. Many are familiar, such as Sager Creek, an ally downtown or City Lake.
"That's why I titled it 'And then I saw..." because I just felt like consciously I was looking around at my own environment and looking for the ordinary to find the beauty in the ordinary," Peer said.
Peer earned a master of fine arts in painting and drawing from the University of Arkansas in 1979 and opened a studio on the historic Main Street of his hometown, Van Buren.
When Peer and his family moved to Siloam Springs and he began teaching at JBU in 1990, the visual arts program only offered an associate's degree and had six students. In the past 30 years it has grown to become one of the university's largest programs offering four bachelor's degrees and with more than 200 students.
Peer served as the chair of the visual arts department from 1990 through 2003, and as the fine arts gallery director from 2003 through 2017. He was the holder of the Peer Endowed Chair, named in his honor, from 2015 through 2018, and was recognized with the faculty excellence award in the spring of 2017.
The university is currently building the Peer-Andrus Studio and Project Barn, which will provide nearly 17,000 square feet of studio space for art and engineering students. It is named in honor of Peer and Dave Andrus, the current head of the visual arts department.
"It just seems like every year there has been a new challenge and a new excitement with something, whether it's the growth in number (of students) or it's the facility, a new support of the program, or the beginnings of a new program," he said. "It's just been a thrill beyond my wildest imagination to see what's come out of it and the students that have benefited from it and where they have gone, and the things they have been doing. That's really what the excitement is, to see how the students are using their education and impacting the world."
While teaching at the university, Peer has also continued his career as a professional artist. He is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and recently achieved the Master Circle designation from the International Association of Pastel Societies. He has served as a guest artist for many arts organizations, a juror for regional competitions and the leader of pastel workings, including two at Crystal Bridges of American Art, according to his biography.
Recently, Peer was featured in articles in the Artists Network digital publication, the Pratique des Arts (an arts magazine published in France), and the Pastel Journal Magazine, most recently as an honorable recipient in the 2018 Pastel 100 competition, his biography states.
Peer's work has also been included in numerous juried exhibitions sponsored by the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Societies. He recently received first place in the 2018 Richeson 75 exhibits for Small Works for Landscapes, and best of show at the Arkansas Pastel Society's National Exhibitions.
In his retirement, Peer plans to spend more time with his wife Cecilia, children and grandchildren. He also plans to continue pursuing his career as a professional artist.
Peer said his career at JBU has been an amazing experience.
"I tell prospective students here that it is so much more than I expected it to be that what I thought would be a two or three year career here has turned into a lifelong love, and if they come they will find that excitement and love too," Peer said.
More information about the gallery is available at www.jbu.edu/art/gallery. More information about Peer is available at www.charlespeer.com.
General News on 03/21/2018