Peter Illig was raised in East Aurora, New York, a small town oustide of Buffalo. His father, Carl (C.W. Illig), was a prolific and well-known regional artist. As a young boy in the 1960s, Peter remembers going to bed at night listening to his father teaching art classes in the next room, the smell of oil paint and cigarette smoke carrying him off to sleep.

Painting by Carl W. Illig (1910-1987)

As a teenager, Peter gained a reputation as a star bicyclist, winning races and riding his bike from New York to Florida. Driven and ambitious, he also developed a passion for mountain climbing, topping Mt. Rainier and Mt. Shasta among others.

His primary focus, however, remained art. Peter earned his degree in Art Education and moved to Colorado in 1981 to begin his 25-year career as a high school art instructor. Peter's restless nature has coaxed him to pursue other interests during his teaching tenure. He went back to school to earn his Master's Degree, studying figure painting extensively. He became a European sports car enthusiast, dividing his time between the studio and the garage. He also found time to delve into Denver's art scene, producing thought-provoking oil paintings composed of layered images mixing color with black-and-white. The art community and the press took notice, and he was dubbed a "neo-pop surrealist," and "one of Denver's best artists."

Peter with his sons, Parker, 10, and Fletcher, 7.

Today, Peter lives in Littleton, with his girlfriend, Dana. He is currently represented by Plus Gallery, and is also a member of Pirate and Spark galleries. In addition, he participates in several group shows each year, and is a board member of the Colorado Art Education Association.

Pete and Dana in Long Beach for "Pop Nation" TV taping, summer 2005

COLLECTIONS:

Christoph Heinrich

Joseph Higgins

Sue Cannon

Riva Sweetrocket

Sean Moriarty

Bill Holm

Michael Drumm

Dana Cain

George Blosser

and many other private and corporate collections around the world.

 

SELECTED SOLO SHOWS

"Cast Shadows: The Jungle Girls Project,"  Pirate: Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado (July 2008)

"Full Fathom Five"  Plus+Gallery, Denver, Colorado (March - April 2008)

"Porn Star Passion Play"  Pirate: Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado (July 2007)

" Mysteries of Babylon" SPARK Gallery, Denver, Colorado (April - May 2007)

"Popular Mechanics"  Pirate: Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado (June-July 2006)

" Dialog: 21" Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado (November-December 2005)

"The Logic of Dreams"  Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver, Colorado (July 2005)

"First Person Future Tense" Two artist show, Plus Gallery, Denver (May - June 2005)

"Life on Earth"  Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver (July  -Aug. 2004)

"Fallen Angels"  Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver (July -Aug. 2003)

"Proximity" Pirate, Denver (August 2002)

"The End of History" Pirate, Denver (August 2001)

"The Secret Life of Men" Pirate, Denver (July - August 2000)

"American Inverse" Two-artist show. Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, Colorado (April - June 2000)

"Man Woman Image Text" CORE New Art Space, Denver (Aug. - Sept. 1997)

"Conflicting Views" Fine Arts Gallery, University of Colorado, Denver (January 1997)

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

2006

Best of Colorado, Denver International Airport

BOOM: An Art Show in a Truck, Denver Art Museum

2005

Figure Painting Invitational, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Denver, Colorado

CAEA Art Exhibition, Philip J Steele Gallery, Denver (Best in Show Award)

2004

Group Show 2 Biennial, Studio Aiello Gallery, Denver

Pirate Members’ Show, Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver

2003

Gallery Sovereign Show, Boulder, Colorado

Cooperative Gallery Retrospective, Art Students League, Denver, Colorado

2002

Studio Aiello Inaugural Juried Show, Studio Aiello, Denver

Rocky Mountain Biennial, Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, Ft. Collins, CO

All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village (Juror’s Award)

The Man Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver

Side by Side, ‘Fresh Art’ Gallery, Denver

2001 The Figure in American Art, 1950-2000, Center for Visual Arts, Denver

Melánge: Pirate Artists' Show, Viridian Gallery, New York, NY

The Dream Mill, Lakewood Cultural Arts Center, Lakewood, Colorado

Opening Show, Sandra Phillips Fine Arts, Basalt, Colorado

All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado

2000

Real to Surreal, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado

Colorado 2000, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs (Award of Merit)

20th Anniversary Members Show, Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver

1999

Chairs! Chairs! Chairs! Exhibition. Center for Visual Arts, Denver

The Timeless Body, On-line Exhibition at PaintingsDirect.com, New York, NY

CORE Supporting Members' Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver

Colorado Open Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado

Woman: Face/Place, Women's Art Center and Gallery, Denver

ILK Co-op Gallery, National Juried Show, Denver

Metropolitan State College Art Faculty Exhibitions, Center for Visual Arts, and Emmanuel Gallery, Denver

All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado

1998

The Box Show, Invitational show, Ron Judish Fine Arts, Denver

Alternative Arts Alliance Co=Excellence 98 Exhibition, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver (also traveled to Steamboat Springs and Pueblo, Colorado)

Spark Annual Juried Show, Spark Co-op Gallery, Denver

Variations in Size Invitational two-artist show. Curtis Center for the Arts,

ILK Co-op Gallery, National Juried Show, Denver

Persona: Public and Personal, Republic Plaza, Denver

Colorado/Wyoming Biennial, OneWest Art Center, Fort Collins, Colorado

Other Shows:

Colorado Open Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden - (1997) Award, 3rd Prize

Passion Plague, Edge Co-op Gallery Juried Show, Denver (1997)

Figurative Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver (1997) Juror's Choice Award

Colorado Art Education Association Juried Shows: Buell Theater, Denver, (1996)

Colorado Gallery of the Arts, Littleton (1993 - Jurors' Choice Award)

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (2005) Best of Show Award.

PUBLICATIONS

New York Times, Feb. 28, 2008.

Kimberly Graham, Colorado Modern magazine: Peter Illig, Portraitist of Society's Soul, February 2004.

Sonya Ellingboe, Littleton Independent: Peter Illig, Artist Juggling Many Canvases, August 21, 1997.

Michael Paglia, Westword: Artbeat, June 16, 2005 Reviews LIFE ON EARTH, July 29, 2004 Sex in the City, August 15, 2002 Artbeat, August 10, 2000. Sit On It, June 16, 1999. Artistic Democracy, September 3, 1998.

Mary Chandler, Rocky Mountain News: Critics' Choice (reviews): July 15, 2005, July 31, 2004, August 1, 2002, August 18, 2001, August 13, 2000.

Jeff Bradley, Denver Post: Variety in Media (review), August 27, 1999.

J. Gluckstern, Boulder Camera: "Real to Surreal" examines fringes of the possible (review), January 2, 2000.

EDUCATION

Master of Humanities (1996), University of Colorado, Denver. *Course work in painting, art history, sculpture, film, literature.

Bachelor of Science, Art Education (1980), Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Art Instructor, Heritage High School, Littleton, Colorado (1981 to 2001). drawing and painting, photo

Chaparral High School, Parker, Colorado (2001 to 2002).

Dept.Chair: Rangeview High School, Aurora, Colorado (2002 to 2006).

Adjunct Art Professor – Drawing, Metropolitan State College, Denver (1999 to 2000).

AFFILIATIONS

Denver Art Museum 1986 - present

Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver (Member) 1999 - 2005

Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis (Member, curator) 1999 - present

Core New Art Space (Supporting Member) 1997 - 1999

Alternative Arts Alliance 1997 - 1998

Colorado Art Education Association 1986 – 1997, 2003-2006 (Board Representative)

Spark Gallery cooperative, Denver 2004 to 2005

+ gallery, Denver, Colorado www.plusgallery.com (Ivar Zeile, director)

On-line Gallery - www.PaintingsDirect.com (NY) 1999-present