‘Foucault’s procedure connects his work with the Surrealist lineage of automatism, the chance-enamored strategies of Fluxus and oddities on the fringes of art such as Harold Cohen’s computer-generated drawings.’
-Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
Peter Foucault creates works on paper, videos, and installations that are fueled by his love of drawing and mark making. He has created a series of Drawing-Projects, which utilize systems developed by the artist that produce complex abstract compositions. At the root of these projects is a constant tension between control and the loss of control. Viewer interactivity plays an integral part in his drawing installations, large-scale artworks in which participants influence the outcome of a drawing that is created by a small robot over the duration of an event or exhibition. His work is concept driven, and often utilizes objects that reference printmaking and multiplicities.
Foucault has participated in numerous exhibitions nationwide, with recent solo shows at K. Imperial Fine Art (San Francisco), Room Gallery (Mill Valley, CA), Micalea Gallery, the SFMOMA Café, and the Richmond Art Center (Richmond, CA).
His work has been included in group shows at the Getty Museum and Getty Villa, Oakland Museum of California, Torrance Museum (Los Angeles, CA), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA), Marine Contemporary (Santa Monica, CA), Smithsonian Institutes’ Freer and Sackler Gallery, Kit Schulte Contemporary (Berlin, Germany), The University of Salford (Manchester, England), and The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA).
Between 2007-2016 his artwork has been included in Art Market San Francisco, Art on Paper in New York, Art Now Fair Miami Beach, the Bridge Art Fair New York and Miami Beach, the AAF in New York, and the Scope Art Fair Miami Beach. His interactive robotic drawing installations have been presented at The NASA Aimes Research Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), The Lab (San Francisco), Robert Berman E6 Gallery (San Francisco), the Seattle Next50 (Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle Worlds Fair), and the Zero1 Art and Technology Fair (San Jose, CA).
In addition to his own practice, Foucault is the Co-Founder of the Mobile Arts Platform (MAP), a Bay Area based artmaking and curatorial team that creates interactive “pop-up” mobile exhibitions. The MAP project was included in the American Association of Museums 2012 annual reports’ “Trends Watch”.
Foucault has received funding from the Creative Work Fund, the City of San Jose Public Art Program, the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, the City of Palo Alto’s Public Art Program, US Bank, and the Seattle Center Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. Foucault has recently presented lectures at the Monterey Museum, Stanford University, City College, San Francisco University and the SETI Institute (Mountain View, CA).
Foucault’s work has been reviewed in The San Francisco Chronicle, The SF Weekly (Pick of the Week), ArtWeek, Wired Magazine, Neiman Reports, Stretcher Magazine, and Artnet Magazine. In 2009 his drawing Four Square was featured on the Cover of California Home and Design Magazine. Foucault’s work is represented by Karen Imperial Fine Art (San Francisco), Room Gallery, (Mill Valley) and selected works are available through the SFMOMA Artists Gallery. He lives and works in Oakland, CA.
http://kimperialfineart.com/
http://www.roomartgallery.com/Peter-Foucault_c_73.html
http://www.sfmoma.org/pages/artists_gallery
Artist CV:
Solo Exhibitions
2015
Room Art Gallery
2014
K. Imperial Fine Art
2013
Room Gallery
2012
Red Poppy Gallery
2010
Micaela Gallery
2009
Translations, SFMOMA Café, San Francisco, CA
2008
External Influences, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
2007
Outside Forces, Blankspace Gallery, Oakland, CA
Draw!, Frankee Uno Salon and Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006
Outline, Print Zero Studios, Seattle, WA
2005
Overdrawn, Crucible Steel Gallery, CELLspace, San Francisco, CA
2004
Publish or Perish, Installation at the Design Pavilion, San Francisco, CA
Drawn In, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
In The West, Still Lights Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Generations, Still Lights Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2001
Automatic Response, the Nation Gallery, Seattle, WA
Group Exhibitions
2016
Art on Paper Art Fair NYC
Art Market San Francisco
Oakland I Want You to Know, Oakland Museum of California
Montalvo Art Center 5 Hour Sculpture Exhibition
NextNewPaper, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
2015
Who is Oakland, Oakland Museum of California
Obsidere, Alterspace Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Art Market San Francisco (Through Room Gallery)
Art on Paper Art Fair NYC (Through K. Imperial Fine Art)
2014
100 Performances for the Hole, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Wabi Sabi, Alter Space Gallery, curated by the MicroClimate Collective
Installation at the Southern Graphics Council, Oakland, CA
LAST Festival, Zero1 San Jose
Engaging Ensor, Getty Museum and Getty Villa
2013
Dissident Futures Festival, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Alumni Weekend, San Francisco Art Institute
Converge, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Permutations Unfolding, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
The Free Gallery, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA
The Boys Club, Marine Contemporary, Santa Barbara, CA
2012
De-Code/Re-Code, University of Salford, Manchester, England
AAF Los Angeles (Through Micaela Gallery + Projects)
The Subterraneans, Torrance Art Museum, CA
Performing Communities, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Seattle Next 50
Oakland Art Murmur
White, Room Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
2011
Say Something!, Robert Berman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Magna Carta, Kit Schulte Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
AAF Art Fair, New York, NY
Energy, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, (juried by Howard Fox LACMA)
Micromanagement, Performance Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
Time (event produced by Leonardo Magazine), Stanford University, CA
Group Show, Chandler Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
2010
Interaction10, Savanna College of Art, Savanna, GA
Cynosure, Worth Ryder Gallery at UC Berkeley, CA
100 Performances, SOMA Arts, San Francisco, CA
Proliferations, Off Space, San Francisco, CA
Auto-Manic, (June 2010), Root Division, San Francisco, CA
Zero1, (September 2010), San Jose, CA
2009
Tangible Technology, Design Guild SF, San Francisco, CA
Re:source (2 person show), Foster City Art Gallery, CA
Paint By Numbers, WE Space, Oakland, CA
All Good Things, Mission 17 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
Bridge Art Fair (with Micaela Gallery), Miami Beach, FL
The Weather Reconnaissance, The Garage, San Francisco, CA
Zero 1, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, CA
Yuri’s Night 2008, NASA Aimes Research Center, Mountain View, CA
Bridge Art Fair, (with Micaela Gallery), New York, NY
Printzero Studios Print Exchange#6, COCA, Seattle, WA
Compass, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
Art Now Fair, (with Micaela Gallery), Miami, FL
The Drawing Project (2 person show), a.Muse Gallery, San Francisco, CA
The Gun Show, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
Tall Tales (2 person show), Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Printzero Studios Print Exchange#5, Sev Shoon Art Center, Seattle, WA
Artists Go Lightly, Temporary Autonomous Museum, San Francisco, CA
Salon D’Ete, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
Body of Work, Works San Jose, CA
Yuri’s Night Bay Area 2007, NASA Aimes Research Center, Mountain
View, CA
Novus + Neos (New work + New artists), Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
FREEDM, Noise Pop Festival opening exhibition@ Mezzanine, San
Francisco, CA
2006
Anti/Social, Mission 17 Gallery, juried show, San Francisco, CA
Mind Strata: The Collision Point, Works San Jose, CA
Printzero Studios Print Exchange#4, University of Florida
Printzero Studios Print Exchange#4, Sev Shoon Art Center, Seattle, WA
Printzero Studios Print Exchange#4, Basil Howard Gallery, Portland, OR
The Grotesque Sublime, Kitchen Distribution Gallery, Buffalo, NY
The Art of Tea, Cricket Engine Gallery, juried show, Oakland, CA
Empirical Nostalgia, Million Fishes Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Boredom: I Learned it by Watching You, Portland Art Center, OR
Mind Strata: Office Dreams, 2001 Broadway, Oakland, CA
Art SF 5th Anniversary Show, ArtSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Rundgang, Staedelschule Academy of Art, Frankfurt, Germany
2005
AAF Contemporary Art Fair, New York, NY
Postcards from the Edge, Benefit for Visual Aids, Robert Miller Gallery, NY
Paper Cuts-Again, Fetterly Gallery, juried show, Vallejo, CA
MFA Show, SFAI, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
Third Annual Juried Show, Galeria Galou, Brooklyn, NY
California Black and White, Cabrillo Gallery juried show, Aptos, CA
Artist Book Show, Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute
Say What!, ArtSf Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004
AD-HOC, Crucible Steel Gallery, Cell Space, San Francisco, CA
Art Out Loud, ARTSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Snap to Grid, Los Angles Center for Digital Art, Los Angles, CA
Skyways of Tomorrow, Oakland Airport, NASA design collaboration
CCA+SFAI, Play Space Gallery juried show, California College of Art
Out Source, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
New Natures, Swissnex, Gallery of the Swiss Consulate, San Francisco, CA
Off-Site, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
Small Works, Swell Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute
2003
Autofocus, Freer and Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute, juried show, Washington, DC
Fats Famous, Swell Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute, juried show
Gene Carnival, Swell Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute
Sign:Language, Swell Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute
Programs and Grants
2016
Wattis Family Foundation Grant
California Arts Council “Artists Activating Communities” grant
2015
Puffin Foundation Grant
2012
Zellerbach Family Foundation grant
2011
Seattle Center Foundation grant
Oakland Cultural Funding Program grant
US Bank grant
2010
Creative Work Fund Grant
Grant from City of San Jose Public Art Program
2004
Board of Trustees, Student Representative, San Francisco Art Institute
NASA Space Program teaching grant, San Francisco Art Institute
Collaborative project with RIGO 04, San Francisco Art Institute
Inclusion of work in the Education Panel of Southern Graphics,Rutgers
University
2001-03
Teaching Grant, University of Hawaii, Manoa
2002
Independent study, George Pompidou Center, Paris France
2000
Merit award, University of Washington
Gallery Representation
K. Imperial Fine Art, San Francisco
Room Art Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Selected works available through the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Collections
The Getty Institute, Artist Books Collection, Los Angeles, CA
The Floodgate Fund, Palo Alto, CA
The National Archive, Washington DC
David Kiehl (curator of prints at the Whitney Museum)
Published Material, Reviews
2015
KQED, “Reframed: Artists Seeking Social Change Bring the Public into the Picture”, Cynthia Stone and Joe Mazzatoni, 4/22/15
East Bay Express, “Identity Politics”, Sarah Burke, 4/29/15
KQED, “New Project Confronts Citizens on Surveillance in Oakland”, Andy Stelzer, 4/9/15
Good Magazine, “In Oakland that Surveillance Van May be Part of an Interactive Art Exhibit”, Rafi Schwartz, 4/6/15
2014
ArticulAction, Review of recent work, April 2014
Radio interview on Pop-Up Research Station, Los Angels, CA
What Mask Do You Wear, Getty Blog, Kimberly Sadler
2012
American Association of Museums “Trends Watch” 2012 report
The Bold Italic, “Lost in the Shuffle, MAP at SOMArts”, 7/23/12
2011
Readymande Magazine, “MAP at Cherry Blossom Festival”, 4/9/11
SF Weekly: Pick of the Week, “Perfection Revisited”, Heidi de Vries, 7/6/11
SF Weekly: “Pop-Up Art Fun”, Jolene Torr, 7/12/11
2010
East Bay Express, “Picks: Cynosure”, Dewitt Cheng, 2/10/10
SF Weekly, “Pick of the Week for Under 10 Bucks”, Jennifer Maerz, 3/26/2010
If you Can’t Build if Good Build it Big, “Cynosure”, John Casey
2009
California Home and Design, Cover image and “The Reign of Spain”, Mikhael Romain, March/April 2009
San Francisco Examiner, “Local Artist Does Very Well”, Micaela Von Zwoll.4/30/09
Interview on NBC News, “Art.Tech show at The Lab”, 9/4/09
Apartment Therapy, “Thuy’s Modern Parkside Charmer”, Jessica Watson, 9/15/09
2007
Artnet.com, “Miami Post Mortem”, Ben Davis, 12/24/07
SF Gaurdian, “Pick of the Week: The Magari Project and The Drawing
Project, Amy Hough, 11/28/07
The San Francisco Chronicle, “Foucault’s Robots”, Kenneth Baker, 9/29/07
Stretcher Magazine, “Tall Tales”, Stephanie Ellis, October 2007
SF Weekly, “Pick of the Week”, Ping Pong in the Garage, Traci Vogel,8/22/07
Wired Magazine Online, “Robots Offer Lesson in Abstract Expressionism”,
Rob Beschizza, 4/17/07
Crave.com, “Gadget Report from Yuris Night @ NASA”, Donald Bell, 4/16/07
Ubergizmo.com, “Drawing Robots Draw People”, 4/16/07
ArtBusiness.com, “Draw!”, Alan Bamberger, 2/24/07
2006
ArtSpan Open Studios Catalog, “Home Grown Galleries”, Amee LeDuc, 10/06
Elle Decore Magazine, Conrad Drapery Advertisment, August 2006
2005
Portland Art.net, “Boredom I Learned it by Watching You”, Jeff Jahn4/21/06
Artweek, “Papercuts (again)”, Jordan Essoe, November 2005
ArtBusiness.com, “Overdrawn”, Alan Bamberger, 8/3/05
Block Magazine, “Thirteen Artists, One Galeria Galou”, Rachel Hyman,
6/24/05
The Cabrillo Voice, “Black and White, an exciting exhibition comes to
Cabrillo”, Elana Abeles, 4/13/05
Register-Pajaronian, “Seeing things in Black and White”, Richard Bennett,
3/18/05
2002
Television interview on Fox Cable Network, Honolulu, Hawaii
2001
Bricolage Magazine, Issue 18, 2001, University of Washington Press
1999
The Stranger, The Stranger Suggests, August 19 issue
Curatorial Projects
2007
The Gun Show, Root Division, San Francisco, CA, November 2007
I Walked Through Seven Sad Forests, Ping Pong Gallery @ the Garage: Part
of the Garage Biennale 2007, August 2007
Lectures
2012
Leonardo LASER Lecture series at Stanford University
Leonardo LASER Lecture series at SETI Institute
2010
Leonardo LASER Lecture series at San Francisco University
Visiting Artist, City College
2007
Visiting Artist, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2004
Visiting Artist, Napa Valley College, CA
SFAI representative, College Preview Day, Los Angles, CA
SFAI representative, College Preview Day, Austin, TX
Education
2000
BFA – Printmaking University of Washington
BA – Art History University of Washington
2001-03
Graduate Studies University of Hawaii, Manoa
2005
MFA – Printmaking San Francisco Art Institute
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