Peter Griffiths

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As a visual artist I work with painting, printmaking, photographic prints, and installation.

I do not consider myself a painter, nor do I see my work as belonging to any single medium—paint, print, photography, or otherwise. Such labels suggest limitations on what can be done. Instead, I work with whatever medium or material is available, appropriate, or rewarding, which is why I resist identifying as a painter.

I tend to work in two dimensions for two practical reasons: it eliminates the need to construct self-supporting objects, and flat works are easier to store than objects that require space and structure.

Flat works are also convenient because they can be displayed on walls. However, wall space is limited, and competition for it is considerable.

While I have many ideas and opinions, they do not necessarily converge into a single, central focus. I am interested in process, material, and craft, but I do not restrict myself to these concerns. I often incorporate embellishment, decoration, gesture, and recognizable forms into my work.

I am particularly interested in how objects can be represented—often through silhouette—not to clarify meaning, but to dissolve it, allowing forms to become more abstract.

I also explore spatial relationships within visual composition. I tend to compose using tone rather than color, and I become frustrated when a painting appears flat, lacking depth or visual interest.

Recently, I have been working with the idea of drawing from memory or notes. This develops from earlier considerations of the acanthus leaf and Orhan Pamuk’s My Name Is Red. In the novel, artists are able to depict an ideal horse without direct observation, while the acanthus is rendered through a system and used to fill architectural or illustrative space. I combine this approach with pattern—both repeated and irregular—as a process-driven method for generating surface design.

This reflects a shift away from consistent narrative or central subject matter toward a more systematic approach based on a premise or guiding idea. The work often drifts from its original focus, allowing spontaneous elements to emerge.

I frequently draw from other art forms: music, with its repetition, rhythm, and hooks; film, through mise-en-scène; and written text, through syntax, semantics, and semiotics. These offer alternative ways of seeing and structuring experience.

Any attempt to define a singular focus in my practice is often undermined by the range of methods and influences I employ.

In the past, I have explored the role of technology as part of my process. Currently, however, I am interested in minimizing its use, employing it only where absolutely necessary.

I also undertake public art commissions. I specialise in producing vinyl artworks for architectural glass. Examples of my commissioned work can be found in the Public Art section of this site.