Marie Peter-Toltz discusses painting, identity, and transformation ahead of Sydney group show
In May, Marie Peter-Toltz engaged in a dialogue with Paul D'Agostino in Bushwick, coinciding with her MFA thesis exhibition titled 'Je suis le tigre dans la montagne,' which concluded on May 25. She is set to participate in a group exhibition that will open on July 2 at the new Sydney location of Wagner Contemporary. Meanwhile, D'Agostino is featured in 'An Occasional Dream,' a farewell exhibition at Life on Mars, running until July 31. Peter-Toltz's artwork, characterized as metaphorical landscapes, critiques the patriarchal legacy of painting and blurs the lines between figurative and abstract styles. Influenced by Baroque art and Nouvelle Vague cinema, her significant pieces often depict a tiger as a maternal figure, reflecting her belief in the transformative nature of painting, similar to meditation. One attendee was deeply moved by her work during the exhibition.
Key facts
- Marie Peter-Toltz's MFA thesis exhibition 'Je suis le tigre dans la montagne' closed May 25 at New York Studio School
- Peter-Toltz will participate in a group show opening July 2 at Wagner Contemporary's new Sydney space
- Paul D'Agostino had a solo exhibition earlier this year at Life on Mars in Bushwick
- D'Agostino is included in Life on Mars's farewell exhibition 'An Occasional Dream' through July 31
- Peter-Toltz references Walt Whitman's 'I contain multitudes' and Rimbaud's 'Je est un autre' to describe artistic identity
- The artist challenges binary distinctions between figurative and abstract painting as outdated
- Her work engages with painting's patriarchal history while seeking transformation rather than rejection
- An unknown visitor cried while viewing Peter-Toltz's paintings at her exhibition opening
Entities
Artists
- Marie Peter-Toltz
- Paul D'Agostino
- Walt Whitman
- Rimbaud
- Fernando Pessoa
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Philippe Garrel
- Michelangelo
Institutions
- New York Studio School
- Wagner Contemporary
- Life on Mars
- Kunsthistorisches Museum
Locations
- Bushwick
- New York
- Sydney
- Australia
- Vienna
- Austria