Christopher Pekoc
HAND MADE 2
Works by Christopher Pekoc
Exhibition open from December 2014- April 2015 NIGHT VISIONS 1975 - 2000
Works by Christopher Pekoc
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2014 – CHRISTOPHER PEKOC’S Defining Year
I’ve enjoyed the great pleasure of following the career of the artist for some 35+ years, it is now clear that this year has been a signature success for Cleveland’s own Christopher Pekoc. It ranks with 2006, the year when Chris was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize for Art, and has reinforced Pekoc’s emergence on the national art scene of the United States through exhibitions staged by signature American art museums. Earlier in 2014, Pekoc was invited to be part of a two person exhibition at the Amarillo (TX) Museum of Art, “Side by Side” (along with fellow artist-photographer Romy Owens from Oklahoma) that explored the divergences and similarities in these two artists’ works. The exhibition was an enormous success, with over 10,000 people attending it during its May through August run –including 10 students groups. PBS television filmed an interview between the artists before a live audience of some 50 people, moderated by Dr. Henry Adams, head of the Art History Department of Case Western Reserve University. Adams also spoke in the gallery to over 200 people about Pekoc and his career. Chris and Romy personally invited art students at Amarillo State University to create artworks based on his techniques, followed up with a teleconference critiqued via Skype in which the artists critiqued the finished pieces.
Following rapidly on the close of the Amarillo exhibition, Akron Art Museum’s Curator Janice Driesbach was in the final stages of her own exhibition devoted solely to Chris Pekoc’s recent work. “Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made” opened November 15 and has been widely lauded as one of the most sensitively curated and beautifully designed exhibits of his work to date. 
Chris has spoken at his AAM exhibit on repeated occasions, offering remarks on his career, his work and techniques, and the implications of his artistic process.
Photo by Abe Frajndlich
Concurrent with “Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made” is the 3rd solo exhibition for the artist by Tregoning & Company, “HAND MADE 2: Recent Works by Christopher Pekoc.” This show concentrates on recent assemblages that reflect the artist’s current interests in the symbolic and realistic qualities of hands, as well as such topics as the environment, global warming, oil spills, and space.
All in all, a landmark year’s worth of achievements has positioned Christopher Pekoc for even wider recognition and interest among collectors nationally for his art.
~ Bill Tregoning |