Based in LA, Peter Shire is a sculptor who pulls inspiration from movements like Bauhaus and Art Deco while employing his own playful style. He was born and is still based in LA, and attributes his craftsmanship to his father’s influence with a background in furniture design. Using this inspiration, Shire went outside the boundaries of fine arts, including furniture and toys in his sculpting journey. His work walks a fine line between technology and aesthetics, which suggests his important additions to postmodern sculpting. Below I highlight one of his works’ use of pure forms.
I chose Peter Shire to write about because his work is very unique and unlike anything I’ve seen in the past. His take on furniture is a very playful one, something that you might see in a kindergarten classroom but not juvenile enough to be used comfortably. This goes back to the idea of walking the line between technology and aesthetics; it’s not utilitarian art, but it’s also not completely counterproductive either. An aspect of fine art that’s important to almost anyone who enjoys art is how it looks and makes them feel which is why I think his work is unique. It looks playful enough to seem like a toy, but I still want it to be real, comfortable, and accessible furniture.
