Pete Schulte “Properties of Dust and Smoke, pt. 2”

McKenzie Fine Art

[Image: Pete Schulte "Untitled" (2019) graphite, pigment and ink on paper, 11 x 11 in.]

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McKenzie Fine Art presents an exhibition of recent drawings by Pete Schulte, in his first solo outing with the gallery.

Pete Schulte’s abstract drawings have always served as the cornerstone for his other artistic investigations, which include sculpture, site-specific wall drawings, and installations. This exhibition consists exclusively of drawings, many of which were created during a recent two-month residency at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. The scale of the work is generally small, with most of the drawings ranging from 6 x 6 inches to 12 x 12 inches. There are some notable exceptions, however, including a set of four narrow drawings, up to 93 inches long, employing repeated geometric motifs.

Working predominately in graphite, along with gouache, ink and pigment, Schulte creates pristine and nuanced geometric compositions that are both meditative and mysterious. Simple shapes, glowing light, and soft color subtly emerge from the paper. Eschewing mechanical processes, he executes his drawings methodically and entirely by hand. His approach is intimate and intuitive, with one work often begetting the next while exploring variants of a motif at different scales or with slight shifts in color. The environments he depicts reference geometry and architecture and also harken to such forebears as Emma Kunz, James Bishop, Anne Truitt, and Tantric drawings, while feeling entirely of the present. Schulte notes that, “without irony, I am attempting to craft a life-affirming response to the existential, political, social and ecological catastrophes that currently confront us.”

Pete Schulte (b.1970, Rock Island, IL) received his M.F.A. in painting and drawing from The University of Iowa in 2008. He resides in Birmingham, AL and is Associate Professor of Art at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. For the past seventeen years he has shown his work in gallery and museum exhibitions across the country and in Europe. Schulte’s work has been reviewed in Art in America, New Art Examiner, and Maake Magazine, among others.