Photograph by Olivia Fougeirol
Artist Marie Peter-Toltz’s work is seductively distinct, a deftly woven thatch of passion, dynamism and precision Her masterly use of color, texture and singular visual vocabulary combine for an intoxicating effect, one that’s solidly established her as an emerging artist of significant international repute.
She achieved this by an impressive, energetic approach to her work, continuously evolving, consistently producing gorgeously rendered canvases and, more importantly, exhibiting them in multiple countries around the world simultaneously. The French-born, Los Angeles based Peter-Toltz has been shown in prestigious galleries in Australia, Europe and the US, and one her key venues is Brooklyn’s famed Slag Gallery. Slag is a critical showcase for international up and comers and a perfect fit for Peter-Toltz’s powerful canvases—so much so that she is currently discussing details of her second solo exhibition at Slag.
It’s a signal accomplishment; the respected Slag is dedicated to providing it’s carefully chosen roster of rising artists with critical public exposure and ongoing career support—and it takes an elevated talent to meet the discriminating gallery’s high standard.
Peter-Toltz’s formidable creativity is characterized by boundless expressive nature and informed by both classic and modern forbears. Her singular work gleams with an intensely intimate, feminine quality that frequently juxtaposes mythic themes and figures with her own self-possessed visual style. It’s an extraordinary formula that made her a natural for the Slag roster.
Marie Peter-Toltz
Mon Coeur qui Bat
Oil on canvas \ 20 x 18 inchess \ 2018
Courtesy of the Artist and NANDA/HOBBS Gallery, Sydney (Australia).
“I started working with [Slag director-owner] Irina Protopopescu in 2016 while I was still living in New York,” Peter-Toltz said. “I had known about her
work with Slag Gallery and had been following a few of her artists whose works I had admired for years. When Irina came up to me and ask me to be part of her roster of artist, I didn’t hesitate and quickly ignored the other offers that I had at the time. I’m passionate about continuing to work with Irina because of her acute taste in choosing excellent artists with world class exhibitions and projects—she has a very clear and highly sophisticated vision for her gallery, which is extremely important.”
Characteristically, Peter-Toltz is not content to prepare a single exhibit, and is concurrently participating in the group show ‘Les Amoureuses’ at Show Gallery* part of the Los Angeles French Consulate’s renown annual citywide Franco-American festival ‘Ceci N’est Pas.’
“Les Amoureuses’ is my next project here in Los Angeles. Les Amoureuses is a collective artistic exhibition project in which four artists - Olivia Fougeirol, Francesca Gabbiani, Joséphine Wister Faure and myself—we all come together and explore the subject of love as it resonates with our different artistic outputs, as female artists, mothers, all of us are expats from France and we all chose Los Angeles as our muse.”
“These four artists were carefully chosen because of their individual specificity in terms of the mediums they use—sculptrice-performance artist Joséphine Wister Faure, Francesca Gabbiani, who makes monumental paper cut drawings, photographer Olivia Fougeirol and myself the painter.”
The high-profile, multi-venue ‘Ceci N’est Pas’ festival, initiated by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and Ministry of Culture & Communication, transforms the city and Hollywood’s Show Gallery—a recently inaugurated experimental space showcasing all things relating to the arts, culture, music, social causes, education and technology—is the perfect spot to house such an ambitious, engrossing show.
“’Les Amoureuses’ is an exciting project for many reasons,” Peter-Toltz said. “Viewers will be challenged with different point of view and references in same space and I’ve long been an admirer of the other artist’s work. It runs until May 2019 and there will be performances, talks and conferences with the artists and other collaborators throughout the exhibition. It’s always exciting to be part of a bigger project too and, as part of the festival’s program, it will open the doors to a diverse audience and extend itself to the greater public, reaching out to different communities outside the gallery aficionados circle.”
Peter-Toltz’s natural talent, impeccable technique and singular vision are as impressive as her hard-charging work ethic, and this mixture has established her as one of the art world’s most accomplished and fast rising forces. For her, ultimately, it’s all about the work.
“The idea of ‘Inspiration’ can be, in my view, a myth,” she said. “One could wait all day to feel inspired or to wait for the ‘inspiration’ to arrive upon oneself. It can be dangerous to rely so much on ‘inspiration’. The ultimate inspiration is the work itself or one that never fails is to look at the work of greater better artists.”
'Les Amoureuses’
Olivia Fougeirol, Francesca Gabbiani, Marie Peter-Toltz, Joséphine Wister Faure
Opening reception on March 30th, 2019, 6-9PM
Exhibition through May 6th, 2019
Show Gallery
1515 N. Gardner Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90046
info@show.gallery
**
Irina Protopopescu
Slag Contemporary
56 Bogart St.
Brooklyn, NY 11206
T 212 967 9818
Thursday - Sunday 1-6PM
Monday - Wednesday by appointment irina@slaggallery.com www.slaggallery.com