ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Elizabeth Peyton's 'Live Forever' Retrospective at Bonnefanten Museum

exhibition · 2026-04-23

From October 18, 2009, to March 21, 2010, the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht presented 'Live Forever,' a retrospective dedicated to Elizabeth Peyton (born 1965, Connecticut; currently residing and working in New York). This exhibition showcased 89 pieces created between 1991 and 2009, encompassing a range of paintings and drawings. Peyton's portraits often feature individuals from her personal life as well as icons like John Lennon and Frida Kahlo. Her small-scale works are characterized by dynamic brushwork that resembles inkjet printing, with close-up depictions that highlight reflective expressions. Utilizing her own photographs or magazine images, Peyton employs methods that imitate the perspective of a camera. The title 'Live Forever' reflects the idealized immortality of her subjects. In fall 2009, recent drawings were exhibited at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in Brussels.

Key facts

  • Exhibition 'Live Forever' at Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, from October 18, 2009 to March 21, 2010.
  • 89 works from 1991 to 2009, including paintings and drawings.
  • Subjects include personal acquaintances and historical figures like John Lennon, Sid Vicious, Kurt Cobain, Napoleon Bonaparte, British royal family, Eugène Delacroix, Frida Kahlo.
  • Paintings are small format (35 x 25 cm), with precise eyes and unsmiling red lips.
  • Peyton uses her own photographs or images from magazines and internet, employing zoom, decentering, cropping.
  • Style references Fauvism, Matisse, David Hockney, Alex Katz.
  • Barbara Gladstone Gallery, Brussels, showed recent drawings in fall 2009.
  • Artwork examples: 'Maurizio Eating' (1998), 'Jarvis and Liam Smoking' (1997), 'Nick Reading Moby Dick' (2003), 'Flower Liam' (1996), 'Keith (From Gimme Shelter)' (2004), 'Matthew' (2008).

Entities

Artists

  • Elizabeth Peyton
  • John Lennon
  • Sid Vicious
  • Kurt Cobain
  • Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Eugène Delacroix
  • Frida Kahlo
  • David Hockney
  • Alex Katz

Institutions

  • Bonnefanten Museum
  • Barbara Gladstone Gallery

Locations

  • Maastricht
  • Netherlands
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • Brussels
  • Belgium

Sources