Artist

Michael Peterson

born Wichita Falls, TX 1952
Media - portrait_image_113332.jpg - 90219
Photograph by Jean Peterson. Courtesy Michael Peterson.
Also known as
  • Michael J. Peterson
  • M. J. Peterson
Born
Witchita Falls, Texas, United States
Biography

Michael Peterson moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1975 and harvested wood in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. He compares the experience of gathering unusual burls and branches to "walking around in a sculpture garden." He began to experiment with woodworking and made carved objects and symmetrical vessels that emphasized the beauty of the wood. Peterson is inspired by nature, and his roughly turned objects are embellished with carvings and texture to evoke weathered bones, fossils, and stones.

Works by this artist (731 items)

Joseph Cornell, Flora, 1970, drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1991.155.371
Flora
Date1970
drawing
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Eleanor Duse), mid 1960s, collage and ink on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2002.58.22
Untitled (Eleanor Duse)
Datemid 1960s
collage and ink on masonite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Girl with Gardenias), 1967, collage on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2002.58.21
Untitled (Girl with Gardenias)
Date1967
collage on masonite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Juan Gris drawing), late 1960s, collage on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2002.58.20
Untitled (Juan Gris drawing)
Datelate 1960s
collage on masonite
Not on view