Joining Heaven and Earth, drawings by Shelburne artist Peter London

Peter London is a teacher, artist, writer and lecturer, and in reading his artist statement, one could add, philosopher. On his website you’ll find this statement:

The prime work of art is to join heaven and earth.
Farfetched? Not to me. By heaven I mean hope, wonder, spirit, the endless mystery of the wild universe and whatever makes the whole thing tick. By earth, I mean me, and collectively, all humans. Thus the grand project of art is to work at the joining, the rejoining, of them with us; creating an ecology, a pattern that connects humans (me) with the rest of the universe.

Art embraces all the untidy, unjust, unpredictable, fathomless, but oh so wonderful world exactly as it is, and says "yes" to the whole unruly, gorgeous mess.

London elaborates on this theme in his statement about this particular exhibit here at Salmon Falls Gallery in the month of August.

My theme is not the look of Nature once the forces of the cosmos have
determined what Nature will look like down here on Earth.
My theme is the look of the forces of the cosmos (Heaven) that
determine what Nature will look like.

In particular, my work is the look of the local forces of the cosmos
that cause the Deerfield River to flow along the creases in the hills
of the western Berkshires and also make those same hills, make
everything down here on Earth.  Thus the title of the exhibition.
I fish in my kayak and canoe along the Deerfield River, and when I am
not catching fish, which is quite often, I become aware of the forces
that are pulling me and the river towards a great and common
destination that I cannot (just as well) see. I know this force can be
described merely as “gravity”, but that dismisses the wonder of it
all. A force that pulls everything, EVERYTHING, down and in. Water,
fish, kayaks, trees, boulders, fishing tackle, me. Without hesitancy,
without a qualm for what is taken and delivered elsewhere, this
formative energy that others casually refer to as “gravity”, that
pushes and pulls and breaks and cuts everything (me too) to form every
new thing is what I am interested in exploring in my work.

London’s drawings are quite large, 30”x40” and 40”x50”. The size gives one the chance to really merge with the work, follow the abstract lines into your own musings, your own destination. See where your journey into these artworks intersects with the artist’s creative intention. Meet the artist for this discussion and others, Saturday, August 6th, 4-6pm, at his reception. For directions and more information go to www.SalmonFallsGallery.com, www.peterlondon.us, or call us 413.625.9833.