PETER HALLEY
A slide lecture by BILL SCHOTT
Peter Halley Background
 Born September 26, 1953 in New York.
 Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts from 1967-1971(14-18).
 Graduated with degree in art history from Yale University, New Haven,
Connecticut in 1976.
 Received a MFA from the University of New Orleans in 1978.
 He returned to New York to live in 1980.
 His first solo exhibition was held at International with Monument in 1985.
 Since then he has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions.
Including:
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Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany in 1989
The capc Mus仔 d'art contemporain de Bordeaux in 1991
The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1997
The Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Japan in 1998.
The Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris in 1995
The University of Buffalo, New York in 1997
The Museum Folkwang, Essen in 1998
Backgound continued--->
 He has also participated in:
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the 1985 Sao Paulo Biennial,
the 1987 Documenta,
the 1988 Carnegie International and
the 1987 and 1991 Whitney Biennial.
 He has also published critical writings that can be found in two
collections of essays from the 1980s and 1990s.
Artistic Concerns
 Peter Halley aims to make paintings that have an
immediate and explosive visual impact through scale,
hard-edged form and color.
 Day-Glo and acrylic paints and areas of stucco texture
are used to create subtle or brilliant effects
 His starting point is a conception of geometry as a
metaphor for society.
 The paintings are depictions of the social landscape,
of isolation and connectivity.
Peter Halley,
Black Cell,
1985,
90 x 105 inches
Peter Halley A Perfect World, 1993 acrylic,
Day-Glo acrylic and Roll-a-Tex on canvas
90 x 147 3/16 inches
Peter Halley Dig-Dug, 1997 acrylic,
Day-Glo and metallic acrylic and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas 74 x 140 inches
Peter HALLEY
Pulse Generator 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and metallic
acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
87 x 74 ins /
221 x 188 cms
Peter HALLEY
Anti-Trust 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and metallic
acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex on
canvas
103 x 66 ins /
261.6 x 167.6 cms
Peter HALLEY
The Road Home 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and metallic
acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
80 x 45 ins / 203.2 x 114.3 cms
Peter HALLEY
Loaded 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and metallic
acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
90 x 61 ins / 228.6 x 155 cms
Peter HALLEY
Objective 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and
metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
73 x 78 ins /
185.4 x 198 cms
Peter HALLEY
Privilege Level 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and
metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
78 x 65 ins /
198 x 165.1 cms
Peter HALLEY
Superbundle 2000
Acrylic, pearlescent
and metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
108 x 118 ins /
274.3 x 299.7 cms
Peter HALLEY
Power Reach 2000
Acrylic, Day-Glo,
pearlescent and
metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
84 x 84 ins /
213.4 x 213.4 cms
Peter HALLEY
The Deep End 2001
Acrylic, Day-Glo
and pearlescent acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
89 x 81 ins /
226.1 x 205.7 cms
Peter HALLEY
Incoding Rules 2001
Acrylic, pearlescent
and metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
64 x 57 ins /
162.6 x 144.8 cms
Peter HALLEY
Flash of Panic 2001
Acrylic, Day-Glo and
pearlescent acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
77 x 71 ins /
195.6 x 180.3 cms
Peter HALLEY
Sous le Sable 2001
Acrylic, metallic acrylic
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
66 x 49 ins /
167.6 x 124.5 cms
Peter HALLEY
Out Now 2001
Acrylic, pearlescent
and metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex
on canvas
66 x 49 ins /
167.6 x 124.5 cms
Peter HALLEY Ancillary Control 2001
Acrylic, Day-Glo, pearlescent and metallic acrylic,
and Roll-a-Tex on canvas 73 x 144 ins / 185.4 x 365.8 cms
Peter Halley 2004
Cell, Two Prisons, Stacked
70" by 45"acrylic,
roll-a-tex/canvas
Peter Halley 2004
Horizontal Prisons
54" by 48"acrylic,
roll-a-tex on canvas
Peter Halley 2004
Stacked Cells and Prison
70" by 36" acrylic,
roll-a-tex on canvas
Peter Halley 2004
Horizontal Prison, Prison
63" by 36"acrylic,
roll-a-tex on canvas
Peter Halley 2004
Cell, Prison
72" by 48"
acrylic, roll-a-tex
On canvas
Variations in the Cell Pattern
 His sociological theme extends to his work in other media.
 His installations combine flow charts and wall works derived from
digitally manipulated and cartoon imagery.
 These explore social systems, hierarchies and apocalyptic narratives
such as the Exploding Cell series. Exploding Cell Series.
 The Cell series primarily focuses on creating variation within the cell
patterns.
 It tries to slip the cell of its central location by multiplying the image.
 The juxtaposition of panels revels color interaction and dynamics.
Exploding Cell Series - made on graph paper lines
he used the lines as a framework
- The relationship between upper and lower panels becomes more indistinct.
-There is a sense of new spatial depth. The interaction of the colors on the
planes causes an illusionistic effect of depth that mimics the sections of relief
Peter Halley in his studio
Historical Influences
 The rectilinear compositions of
Halley recall Barnett Newman,
Piet Mondrian and Jospeh
Albers.
 The play of color and the use of
day-glo reminds of Andy
Warhol’s diamond dust in the
1960’s.
 The work also falls in line with
the non-figurative tradition of
Marc Rothko and Ad Reinhradt.
Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian developed an independent abstract style where he would reduce the
Image to its primary geometric shapes. This over simplification became more graphic
In its development. There is a heightened understanding for composition in his work
Joseph Albers
 His working philosophy was to
build carefully and
meticulously with sturdy
materials from a base of
simple, fundamental forms too
increasingly complex shapes.
 Albers became a prolific artist,
known primarily for his
"Homageﾕs to Squares.
 He was also one of the first
modern artists to investigate
the psychological effects of
color and space and to
question the nature of
perception.
Barnett Newman
 His works are characterised by
the areas of color separated by
thin vertical lines, or "zips" as
Newman called them.
 In the first works featuring zips,
the color fields are variegated,
but later the colors are pure and
flat
 Newman's late works, such as
the Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow
and Blue series, use vibrant,
pure colors, often on very large
canvases
Peter Halley in his studio
“Neo Geo”
 Short for Neo-Geometric Conceptualism. This term came into use in the
early 1980s in America to describe the work of Peter Halley, Ashley
Bickerton, Jeff Koons and others.
 Halley in particular was strongly influenced by the French thinker Jean
Baudrillard. Their work aimed at a being a critique of the mechanisation
and commercialisation of the modern world - Halley referred to as the
'geometricisation of modern life'.
 Seeing geometry as a metaphor for society, Halley made brilliantly
coloured geometrically abstract paintings which, however, have a
figurative basis. They are derived from things such as circuit boards,
which Halley uses to represent the individual organisms and networks of
contemporary urban existence. The paintings are depictions of the social
landscape, of isolation and connectivity.
Jeff Koons
One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank, 1985
Glass, steel, sodium chloride
reagent, distilled water, basketball
165 x 78 x 34 cm
Rabbit, 1986
Stainless steel
104 x 48 x 30 cm
New Hoover Deluxe Shampoo Polishers,1980-1986
Three Shampoo polishers, plexiglas,
fluorescent lights 142 x 91 x 38 cm