Peter Geise Solo Show at the La Jolla Anthenaeum

If you have followed abstract art in San Diego you should know about artist Peter Geise. He entered the local art scene in 1981. By 1987 he had received two best of show awards in two different galleries. It was then he realized he wanted to pursue art full time. Geise has shown with artists like Richard Alan Morris and Walter Hasse Wojtyla. The actor, Vincent Price, has purchased several pieces of his earlier work.

Geise's paintings begin by an automatic process of painting. The artist paints, at first, not being concerned what he is doing. Later, Geise employs a process of editing to finalize the piece.  Its a "stream of consciousness" style that taps into the subconscious mind. Many artists and writers have experimented with this technique.

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Geise's paintings theme on subjects like, the occult, Ufo's, and iconic abstract art. One thing that grabs your attention about Geise's work is the titles. They are usually spelled out in the painting itself.  Often done in the last stage of painting after Geise decides the direction of the composition. The use of words, in painting, is a common outsider technique.

 I have debated with Geise that he is an outsider artist. The term "Outsider", simply put, is any artist that is self taught. Outsider artists paint what they want, and have no formal instruction.

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There are many terms that we throw around in the art community. Low brow, Street art, Pop-Surrealism, to name a few. Many artists don't like these labels, and sometimes are offended when you use them to describe their style. Geise knows all the terms and has no qualms about telling another artist where he or she is getting their influence from. In fact, Geise is very opinionated in what he belives to be fine art. I joke about this with Geise. He didn't go to art school, but he knows an incredible amount about art history, he has numerous subscriptions to art magazines and through his own personal research, I would say that he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know on the subject of modern and abstract art. Geise says he is inspired by artists like Klee, Miro, and Picasso who were popular in the 50's and 60's when Geise was a boy.

  Geise's work have a primitive look while others have a more futuristic look. In some of his paintings there are figures which can be seen or body parts that look like male genitalia. Geise calls them "Bio-morphs"  a term used by the artist. It makes me belive that some artists, like Geise, are channeled by aliens.
 

 I would think that Geise gets tired of trying to explain the seemingly unexplainable, there have been many times where a fan would rush up to him and say,"I completely get this painting, I know exactly what your saying." Which would be unlikely, since Geise's paintings have a variety of different meanings.

    Geise's work has been featured at the La Jolla Athenaeum in over 15 showings, so it's about time he got a solo show of his own. This September his work will be on display at the Rotunda Gallery at The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library from September 22nd to November 3rd. There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 28 from 6:30-8:30pm.

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