GREEN FAMILY ART FOUNDATION

Robert Peterson:
Somewhere in America

June 7 – September 14, 2025

The Green Family Art Foundation is pleased to present Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America organized by the Wichita Art Museum, opening June 7, 2025, and remaining on view until September 14, 2025. Please join the Green Family Art Foundation for the opening reception of Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America on Saturday, June 7, from 5 to 8 pm at 2111 Flora Street, Suite 110, Dallas, TX 75201. The opening reception is free and open to the public, no RSVP required. Complimentary valet parking will be provided.

In his portraits, contemporary artist Robert Peterson renders African American life beautifully and joyfully, rejecting stereotypes to celebrate the “Black experience as [he] knows it.” The artist’s first major museum exhibition, Somewhere in America features key paintings from Peterson’s existing works, as well as over 20 new works, many painted on a monumental scale. Each painting—loving depictions of individuals, couples, and families in everyday moments—commemorates Peterson’s community in small-town Oklahoma, his wider circle of friends and family throughout the country, and the people he encounters that spark memories of those he has known, both past and present. Self-taught, Peterson picked up a paintbrush for the first time in 2012 to distract himself from an upcoming hip replacement. He had his first solo exhibition in New York City less than a year later. Today, his work sells out at art fairs and galleries and is collected by museums, with works at the Philbrook Museum of Art, Weisman Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg. Somewhere in America tells a deeply personal—yet widely recognizable—story of family, community, and legacy.

About Robert Peterson

Robert Peterson (b. 1981, Lawton, Oklahoma) is a contemporary artist whose evocative portraiture situates him firmly within the evolving canon of American  figurative painting.

Drawing from the visual language of editorial photography, Peterson crafts striking depictions of contemporary African American life that are as intimate as they are monumental. With subjects ranging from community members and friends to his own family, Peterson’s paintings invite reflection on identity, dignity, and the quiet power of presence.

Rendered against minimalist backdrops, his figures emerge with profound sensitivity bathed in shifting tones and rich hues that celebrate the sensuality of paint and the depth of Black skin. Subtle gradations of color, especially the use of blues, accentuate musculature and form with an unexpected tenderness, inviting the viewer to linger. These portraits, often gazing directly at the viewer, transform moments of everyday life into timeless meditations.

Peterson made history as the first African American to be named Artist of the Year in Southwest Oklahoma. In 2023, his portrait of acclaimed author Ernest J. Gaines was featured on the 46th stamp in the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage Series cementing his cultural and artistic impact on a national scale.

Recent solo exhibitions include Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America, Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS, and We Are Forever at Albertz Benda Gallery in New York, NY. His work is held in prominent public collections, including the Brooklyn Museum (NY), Philbrook Museum of Art (OK), Weisman Museum of Art (MN), Wichita Art Museum (KS), Columbus Museum of Art (OH), Art Bridges Foundation, and Museum of Fine Art, Saint Petersburg, (FL)

Green Family Art Foundation

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