ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Peter Wegner's Chromatic Systems at Griffin Contemporary

exhibition · 2026-04-23

At Griffin Contemporary in Venice, California, Peter Wegner's exhibition runs from March 3 to April 28, 2001, showcasing three large paintings alongside paper works that delve into themes of color, language, and systematic arrangement. Each painting is named after its primary color—green, yellow, and blue—and incorporates commercial paint samples: 49 shades of green, 72 of yellow, and 14 of blue. Wegner categorizes these colors based on linguistic aspects, choosing names like 'sun' for yellows and nature-themed titles for greens. The yellow piece features jagged strips that imply motion, while 49 Greens is arranged in a circular grid. Similar principles are applied in the blue painting. Additionally, carbon-copy drawings titled LA/LA/LA/LA illustrate a fading map of Los Angeles, merging conceptual art with a poetic investigation of color and language.

Key facts

  • Exhibition at Griffin Contemporary, Venice, California, March 3–April 28, 2001
  • Three large paintings: 49 Greens, 72 Yellows, 14 Blues
  • Colors selected from commercial paint swatches based on linguistic criteria
  • 72 Yellows uses only shades with 'sun' in the name; 49 Greens uses nature-related names
  • 72 Yellows constructed by cutting swatches into strips and rearranging them
  • 49 Greens blends colors to create new hues, evoking a forest walk
  • Blue painting follows similar principles
  • Wegner quotes: 'a color and a name are two different things'
  • Series of drawings LA/LA/LA/LA: four carbon-copy maps of Los Angeles, each oriented differently
  • Work references conceptual art of 1960s–70s and systems theory

Entities

Artists

  • Peter Wegner
  • Jody Zellen
  • Frank Straschitz

Institutions

  • Griffin Contemporary
  • artpress

Locations

  • Venice
  • California
  • United States
  • Los Angeles

Sources