GSB Hosts Visiting Artist Oscar Peterson 

Gill St. Bernard’s is thrilled to host an exhibition of artwork by New Jersey based artist Oscar Peterson, going on now in the F.M. Kirby Hall Gallery of the Performing Arts and Community Center and ending in January 2025.  

To launch this year’s artist in residence program, Peterson gave an “artist talk” to interested students and employees during an Upper School meeting period on Tuesday, October 8. Peterson spoke about his process, inspiration, and technique, and he encouraged students to strive for a “perfect practice,” rather than seek perfection in their work.  

Peterson then offered a masterclass to a group of interested Seventh through Twelfth Grade students on October 22, where he demonstrated the art of painting “en pleine aire” and shared with them his different perspectives and approach. During the masterclass, students had the benefit of a two-hour extended block of time where they could learn from a working and teaching artist-in-residence while also taking advantage of our beautiful campus.  

His generosity of time extended to students in GSB’s Black Student Union, who had the opportunity to interview Peterson and discuss his life, work, and inspiration. The conversation was recorded for an episode of the GSB Black Knights podcast and is available on Spotify and Apple podcasts.   

Artwork created during the masterclass will be included in the K-12 Winter Art Exhibition opening on December 19 from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. A concurrent reception for Peterson will be open in the PACC where everyone is invited to view the show and meet the artist. 

Peterson’s extensive exhibition of works spans various mediums, subjects, and styles. Common to all the works, however, are narrative elements through the relationships of objects, figures in space, and portraits that evoke strong emotions. 

For this exhibition, Peterson created several paintings specifically for this show. America’s Greatness was painted for a site-specific space as well as Disconnected, a painting Oscar created after viewing the gallery space. Several paintings in this exhibition are also “artist reproductions of masterworks” that were painted in the Prado Museum in Madrid. 

Peterson is currently undertaking portrait commissions and work in the exhibition is for sale. Please contact the artist for pricing and details. admin@oscarpetersonportraits.com