Platform Alumni Artist Focus – Peter Driver

Peter Driver participated in the Platform Graduate Award in 2014 at Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth. He undertook his BA and MA at the Winchester School of Art – University of Southampton.

“I am a multi-disciplinary artist, collaborator and teacher. I use drawing, performative action, woodcut printmaking, and banner-making to think about art, politics, the common good, and our relationships with site and environment. Whether making participative works, documenting walks, playing with materials, or drawing from memory, I favour the idea that the viewer plays a part in creating a work’s meaning.

“I value being part of the Platform network and the connections this has given me with other artists across the region. Being selected to participate in Platform 2014 gave me the confidence to start an MA in Fine Art. I completed my MA at Winchester School of Art in 2015 and now work there as a Teaching Fellow in Fine Art, two days a week.

“I have a superb studio space at OpenHand OpenSpace in Reading, located in a Victorian military keep. I’m very open to hosting studio visits if anyone would like to come for a chat and a look round. We are 14 studio artists and a few associates. The associates scheme also acts as a waiting list for a studio space.

“Many of my opportunities since graduating have come through my association with Chapel Arts Studios, Andover (an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation). I’ve been an associate there since before I graduated. It is an active, supportive and exciting group to be part of and a constant source of ideas, projects, inspiration and encouragement.

“My next major project will be a three-day walk to commemorate the influence of Stanley Spencer on my artistic development. Setting out on 12 July (an inauspicious day for marching), I will walk from the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham to his astounding ‘holy box’ at Sandham Memorial Chapel in Burghclere. It’s a walk of about 38 miles and I will follow a set of particular disciplines along the route. You can follow my progress on Instagram #aWalkForStanley.

“I will be showing work generated from the walk as part of Triangulations, a three-person show at OpenHand OpenSpace in September. It would be good to see people at the private view on Thursday 20 September, 6-8.30pm.”

Image: Memory drawing – preparing for For Such a Time as This exhibition 2017, photo: Hollivandor.com.