Features

Retrospective on Peace: Gallery Shines Spotlight On Wheeling Artist’s Career

WHEELING -- An art exhibition opening Thursday at the Wheeling Artisan Center offers an in-depth look into the creative career of Bernie Peace, a longtime Wheeling artist and retired professor.

While the new show is titled "Bernie Peace: Recent Works, Mostly," the featured pieces span several decades and provide a representative view of his artistic output.

Peace, 83, quipped that he wanted to subtitle his show "Ego tamen ne mortuus est," a Latin translation of the English phrase, "I'm not dead yet."

An opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is planned in the third-floor Loft Gallery from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday.

The show continues through April 26 at the Artisan Center, located at 1400 Main St. The gallery is open, free of charge, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"It's a major retrospective spanning my entire lifetime as an artist," Peace said.

The exhibition features about 50 works produced by the award-winning artist. He explained, "It's a broad, comprehensive retrospective covering perhaps the last 40 years, or close to 50 (years)."

Chris Villamagna, coordinator of the gallery, said the show includes photo collages, acrylic paintings on boards, monoprints and mixed media works.

Discussing his intention for the show, Peace said, "I wanted to make it wonderful, as best I can."

Villamagna commented, "I am very excited for this exhibition at the Wheeling Artisan Center by Bernie Peace, who has created fantastic work throughout his career. As a painter, printmaker and creator of photo collage, he excels in all of these media. It's an honor to showcase a portion of the work he has created. I look forward for what still is to come."

The exhibition is sponsored by Wheeling Heritage. "I'm happy to have a show," Peace remarked.

Peace's art has covered a wide spectrum of media, including drawing, printmaking, painting, photography and photographic collage. His work has been displayed in hundreds of exhibitions over the years.

The Wheeling resident is grateful for another chance to share his art with the community. He observed, "An artist does not have that much opportunity to do a major show."

Peace, who began his artistic career as a painter and printmaker, switched his focus to creating eye-catching photographic collages 25 years ago.

His concept for photographic collages differs dramatically from the grouping of photo images that an average observer might consider a collage. His technique involves taking similar, but slightly different, photographs, then cutting the photos into thin slivers and arranging the pieces alternately to form a single collage. The resulting artwork captures the essence of the original images, but creates a fascinating new visual perspective with dramatic flair and artistry.

Peace retired from the faculty of West Liberty State College (now West Liberty University) 23 years ago. It was a decision that allowed him to spend more time making art and showing it in exhibitions.

He taught art at West Liberty from 1960 to 1995, when he was named professor of art emeritus after taking early retirement.

Many years ago, Peace set a lofty goal to be featured in 300 art exhibitions and to win 100 awards. By 2005, he had participated in 315 exhibitions and had won 106 honors and awards. His award-winning work has been featured in several more shows and exhibitions over the past decade.

When galleries, museums and other entities in Pittsburgh and Wheeling celebrated 2007 as "The Year of Glass," Peace had examples of his artistic exploration of glass on display in both cities. That year, he was invited to exhibit one of his innovative photographic collages in an exhibition, titled "The Looking Glass," at the Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh and had three other photo collages featured in the "Crosscurrents" art exhibition at Oglebay Institute's Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling.

Peace's first exhibition took place at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville in 1960, when he won second prize for drawing in that show. The artist started doing photo collages in 1993, creating all of the works by hand.

Art has been the focus of Peace's entire academic and professional career. He earned a bachelor's degree in art at Berea (Ky.) College in 1954 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1957. He presented a retrospective show at Berea College in 1997 and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus the following year.

As an artist, Peace received considerable attention in 1963 when he won second prize for painting in the West Virginia Centennial Exhibition which was shown at the Huntington Galleries and in a state-wide tour. A national highlight of his career occurred in 1995, when Peace received the Grumbacher Gold Medal at the 27th W&J National Painting Show at Washington and Jefferson College.

Peace's work has been featured in national shows as well as regional and state-wide shows. He has participated in exhibitions in Chicago; Pittsburgh; Merrick, N.Y.; New Orleans; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky., and Erie, Pa.

His art has been exhibited in many local and regional venues, including Tamarack in Beckley, Clay Center in Charleston, the former Sunrise Museum in Charleston, Stifel Center, Artworks Around Town, Bethany College, West Liberty, Ohio University Eastern, Delf Norona Museum, Wheeling Artisan Center, Linsly School, Steubenville Art Association and Weirton Community Center.

Works by Peace are included in the state of West Virginia's permanent collection. His work also has been purchased for numerous private, collegiate and corporate collections.