Peter Sutherland Builds Meaning From Mess in ‘Cloud Painting’

Summary

• New Peter Sutherland exhibition ‘Cloud Painting’ features mixed media works created between 2024 and 2025
• Collage art, abstract painting and sculpture inspired by skate culture and natural landscapes

For Dries Van Noten‘s latest show at its Little House Gallery, Peter Sutherland presents Cloud Painting which is a body of work made between 2024 and 2025. Following a move from New York City to a mountain town in Colorado, his practice expanded from photography to include painting, collage and sculpture. The result is a series of works that explore the space between the natural and the manmade, the polished and the raw.

“I want it to be a chaotic celebration of life,” Sutherland said to Dries Van Noten. His work draws from everyday scenes, graffiti and the cultures that shaped him, like skateboarding and biking. He layers photographs, stickers, sketches and found images with paint rollers, creating compositions that are compacted with unruly elements yet imbued with stillness.

“There’s no beginning or end to the process,” he explained in an interview. “I photograph my life and family in a way that blends everything together.” Relocating during the pandemic gave him space to slow down. “This work is personal. I wasn’t interrupted with city life and just really got to take time and try new things.”

For this show, Sutherland scaled up his collage work, something he has been developing for over a decade. “The pieces feel like they breathe more.” His work is inspired by artists who reveal themselves through their creations. “It’s like watching a film and slowly learning about a character,” he says. With Cloud Painting, Sutherland invites viewers to do the same and find meaning in the fragments.

The exhibition is on view through June 17. Head to Dries Van Noten’s website for more information.

The Dries Van Noten Little House Gallery
451 n. La Cienega blvd. 
Los Angeles, CA