Ruled by Children, Kevin Peterson’s Paintings Find Hope Among Environmental Collapse

“Steady” (2022, oil on cradled wood panel, 36 × 24 inches. All images © Kevin Peterson, shared with permission

Houston-based artist Kevin Peterson (previously) continues to translate the uncertainty of today’s world into dystopian works with equal amounts despair and optimism. Scenes brimming with waste material and urban decay find boundless confidence and life in children, who unflinchingly nuzzle up to polar bears or balance atop a crumbling brick wall. Offering hope in the face of climate catastrophe and economic collapse, Peterson’s oil paintings are deeply personal, sometimes reflecting his own son and daughter as subjects. The artists tells Colossal:

I hope the coming generations are wiser, more empathetic, more courageous. When I’m watching my kids, I’m always projecting my own insecurities and fears onto them, assuming they will suffer from my own deficiencies. I can not tell you how excited I feel when I see them diverge from those characteristics, and I realize they are not me. They are better than me in so many ways, and that is what anchors my hope for them and the future.

Many of Peterson’s works shown here are on view through September 24 at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, which also has a couple of prints available. You can also follow his forward-looking practice on Instagram.