Gallery On Greene Is ‘Crossing The Line’ With Paintings By Peter Vey, Opening Feb. 27

Gallery On Greene Is ‘Crossing The Line’  With Paintings By Peter Vey, Opening Feb. 27

Peter Vey isn’t just a painter; he’s a voyager, an explorer and a traveler’s guide; taking viewers with him, inviting them to experience a place from the inside: underneath a spiky Key West palm tree; alongside a towering Washington, DC monument or within the staccato sounds of salsa and Spanish in a crowded Cuban neighborhood.

Vey expertly captures on canvas the color, light, energy and bright personalities of each place.

Gallery on Greene will celebrate those picturesque postcard views, recreated with Vey’s palette knife in “Crossing the Line,” a two-week show featuring Vey’s worldwide wanderings that took him to capital cities and inspiring islands.

“Crossing the Line” opens with an artist’s reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 at Gallery on Greene, 606 Greene St., Key West.

“This show includes works from New York, Havana, Paris, Washington, DC and of course some new Key West perspectives,” said Vey, a native of north Jersey, who spent much of his  childhood visiting the art museums in New York and the picturesque, palm-lined neighborhoods of South Florida, where his grandparents lived.

The Newseum in Washington, DC celebrated Vey with a show last fall, “A Capital Perspective,” featuring a colorful combination of Washington, DC monuments; the city’s stunning firework displays and the perfectly preserved historic architecture of Key West.

Vey’s interpretation of place and personality has been likened to the French Impressionists, who shared a delight in the everyday landscape of their surroundings.         The world looks better and always more joyous when seen through the eyes and colors of Peter Vey. The celebration of his surroundings also has prompted comparisons to the American Scene, or American Regionalist, painters from the early 1900s.

And Vey shrugs off any criticisms of his art being too “feel good” in its charm and character.

“There’s plenty of art that throws you into an introspective tailspin,” Vey says. “I like to celebrate life. That’s important to me.”

And though the same cities reveal themselves to thousands of different artists and painters each year, each work is unique.

The recent increased accessibility to Cuba has made it a required pilgrimage for South Florida artists, all of whom have been filling their sketchbooks, camera cards and canvases with paintings of the old cars and new attitudes in Havana and the Cuban countryside.

“Yeah, it’s funny,” Vey said. “Old Havana isn’t really that big, so all the artists who have been visiting end up painting the scenes, but all with unique and different styles and interpretations. It’s been amazing to watch.”

Experience the color-drenched of Peter Vey at “Crossing the Line” on Gallery on Greene, opening Feb. 27 at 606 Greene St., Key West.

For more information, visit www.galleryongreene.com or call gallery owner Nance Frank at 305-294-1669.

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