Peter Westwood is a Lecturer in the Drawing Studio and Coordinator of the International Artist in Residence Program in the School of Art, RMIT University.
Peter’s work as an artist has been included in major traveling international and national group exhibitions and is held in the public collections of:
Research Higher Degree Candidate (PhD) – concurrent; MA 1995.
Peter is currently undertaking a PhD in the School of Art, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. His topic is titled The New Complexity within Art Practice, a critical assessment of practitioners extending the focus of their activities outside the boundaries of conventional artistic production and a singular or specific practice, in an attempt to locate a more complex, comprehensive and responsive method within globalism and postmodernity.
Peter also graduated from Monash University in 1995 with a Master of Arts by Research. This research centred on inherent problems within the relationship of the individual to modern society: the reflective self within the complexity of a contemporary and amorphous society defined by a confluence of visions of itself. He investigated the ways in which unitive style within art, and painting in particular, diminished the possibility for engaging with shifting perceptions of reality. Peter works with painting and video-media, exploring the relationships between static and non-static imagery.
For 15 years Peter’s broader practise has focused on the inter-dependent and complementary relationship of artist and curator. During his time as Director of Project Space and Spare Room Galleries in the School of Art at RMIT University (1995 to 2003) he established a premise of ‘artist as curator’ as the central theme and philosophy of the exhibition program. He has curated two to three annual exhibition projects for the past 10 years. Some of his curatorial projects have been exhibited internationally.
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Recent Solo Exhibitions
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- 2009 - 48 Portraits, Jenny Port Gallery, Melbourne
- 2006 - Hard Times (collaboration with fiction writer Janet Drake), The Doll’s House, Melbourne
- 2004 - Similarities and differences, Crossley and Scott Gallery, Melbourne
- 2003 - Shape, Crossley and Scott Gallery, Melbourne
- 1996 - Things that have happened, Temple Studio, Melbourne
- 1995 - Fruit of the forest, School of Art, Monash University, Melbourne
- 1992 - Bandwagons, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
- 1991 - Untitled (Paintings), Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
- 1989 - Assemblages, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne
- 1988 - Paintings, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne
- 1986 - Drawings, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne
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Recent Group Exhibitions
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- 2010 - Unilateralism, curator Song Kexi. 99space, Fine Arts College of Shanghai University Creative Centre, Moganshan Lu Arts Complex, Shanghai, PR China
- 2009 - The Shilo Project, curator Dr Chris McAuliffe, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne, NETS touring exhibition: Mildura Arts Centre, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Wangaratta Exhibitions Gallery, Gippsland Art Gallery
- 2009 - Imagine, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat
- 2008 - The Mars Project, Project Space and Spare Room Gallery, RMIT University
- 2007 - Eye to ‘I’ - the self in recent art, curator Geoff Wallis, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, NETS touring exhibition: Warrnambool Art Gallery, Hamilton Art Gallery
- 2006 - Robert Jacks Drawing Prize, Bendigo Regional Gallery, Bendigo
- 2006 -The men’s gallery, curator, Rebecca Mayo. The Doll’s House, Melbourne
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Recent Curatorial Projects and catalogue texts
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- 2010 - ‘Like No Place Known’, Collaborative curatorial exhibition project and catalogue essay with Katarina Frank. Works by Kieran Boland (Australia), Cecilia Darle (Sweden), Gunilla Hansson (Sweden). Patrick Nilsson (Sweden), Jin Shan (PR China) Andreas Soma (Sweden). Project component of the international conference Drawing Out conducted through RMIT University and the University of Arts London. The School of Art Gallery, RMIT University.
- 2010 - multiple matters, Catalogue essay discussing the work of Michael Wegerer (Austria), Künstlerhaus Vienna, Austria
- 2009 - The city lost in snow, Catalogue essay discussing the work of Katarina Frank (Sweden/UK), Project Space and Spare Room Gallery, RMIT University (http://www.projectspace.rmit.edu.au/)
- 2009 - Man in the Cold, Catalogue essay discussing the work of Godwin Bradbeer for the exhibition
- 2008 - Things that remain. Curatorial project, installation and catalogue text. Works by Steve Cox, Jess Crowe, Julia Powles, Greg Pryor and Leonie Zylberberg, Jenny Port Gallery, Melbourne
- 2008 - The World in Painting, Curatorial advisor and contributing writer to the catalogue essay discussing the work of Lê Quôc Viêt (Vietnam) for the exhibition project The World in Painting, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 2008. Curator Zara Stanhope. Regional galleries traveling exhibition.
- 2007 - An obvious problem, Catalogue essay discussing the work of Jan Svenungsson (Sweden) and Katrin von Maltzahn (German) for the dual exhibition project A Place on Earth & Tracking and Jorge Luis Borges visited Melbourne for 10 days; School of Art Gallery. RMIT University, 2007 (http://www.projectspace.rmit.edu.au/ )
- 2006 - The brain hand thing, Catalogue essay discussing the work of David Palliser for the exhibition Imagine…the creativity shaping our culture, Heide Museum of Modern Art, 2006. Curator Zara Stanhope. (http://www.davidpalliser.com/essay.html)
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Recent Publications
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- 2010 - Frank, K., Westwood, P (2010). ‘Like No Place Known’, catalogue essay, The School of Art, RMIT University.
- 2010 - Westwood, P (2010). ‘Bus Stop’, catalogue essay contribution to ‘multiple matters’, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Austria
- 2009 - Westwood, P (2009). ‘The city lost in snow’,catalogue essay, The School of Art, RMIT University.
- 2009 - Westwood, P (2009). ‘Man in the Cold’, catalogue essay for ‘Portraits in Exile’,Ardel Gallery of Modern Art, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2008 - Westwood, P (2008). ‘Things that remain’, catalogue essay, Jenny Port Gallery, Melbourne
- 2008 - Westwood, P (2008). ‘The World in Painting’, catalogue essay contribution to ‘The World in Painting’, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
- 2007 - Westwood, P (2007). ‘An obvious problem’, School of Art Gallery. RMIT University, 2007 (http://www.projectspace.rmit.edu.au/)
- 2006 - Westwood, P (2006). ‘The brain hand thing’, catalogue essay contribution to Imagine, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
- 2005 - Westwood, P (2005). ‘One another’s otherworld’, catalogue essay, Alliance Française de Melbourne (French Cultural Centre).
- 2005 - Westwood, P (2005). ‘Various Presence: the human space in new technology’, catalogue essay, RMIT University.
- 2005 - Westwood, P (2005). ‘The drawing room’, catalogue essay, School of Art, RMIT University.
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Recent catalogue text relating to Westwood’s art practice
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- 2010 - Unilateralism, Song K., 99space, Fine Arts College of Shanghai University Creative Centre, Moganshan Lu Arts Complex, Shanghai, PR China, 2010
- 2007 - Eye to "I" - the self in recent art, Wallace, G., Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, 2007
- 2005 - Rhapsody 21C, ch. (essay) Artist Curator Academic, Zahra, L., University of Tasmania Press, 2005
- 1995 - The Shell Collection of Contemporary Australian Art, Lindsay, R., Shell Company of Australia Ltd, 1995
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Recent Awards, Grants and Residencies
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- Artist in residence, School of Art, Huadong Shida University, Shanghai, PR China, 2010
- RMIT University Project Grant. Crossing: New Art from Australia, an exhibition of contemporary Australian art traveling to Helsinki, Finland, 2002
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