peter scherrer paintings
& acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
swim acrylic on canvas 30 x 48
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 16
up acrylic on canvas 16 x 16
moore acrylic on canvas 22 x 28 sold
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 20
XS acrylic on canvas 48 x 60
untitled acrylic on canvas 48 x 60
untitled acrylic on canvas 24 x 36
untitled acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
it’s done acrylic on canvas 18 x 24
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24
sea salt acrylic. color pencil on canvas 18 x 24 ea of 2
rest less acrylic. color pencil on canvas 18 x 24 ea of 2
out side acrylic. color pencil on canvas 18 x 24 ea of 2
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24 ea of 3
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24 ea of 2
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 ea of 2
untitled acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
untitled acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
untitled acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
madiba acrylic. pencil on canvas 18 x 24
untitled acrylic on canvas 22 x 28
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 20
untitled acrylic on canvas 36 x 48
untitled acrylic on canvas 24 x 36
there. acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 ea of 3
untitled acrylic on canvas 36 x 18 ea of 3
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 ea of 3
untitled acrylic on canvas 24 x 48
untitled acrylic on canvas 18 x 24
untitled acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 ea of 4
- 1992 BFA Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA - 1995 MFA Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Peter Scherrer arrived in Los Angeles in 1991 with a tiny duffle bag and directions to the Rainbow on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. He’d never been there; he ‘d just heard it was the place to be. A native of Switzerland, Scherrer grew up in a small village outside of Zürich. Although he’d traveled throughout Europe, Los Angeles was new territory. It was a place to test his mettle and experience rock n’ roll, sex and beach culture – American style. Scherrer had been in art schools since the age of 16, Earning a degree in graphic design in 1990. L.A. was creative, fertile ground and home to one of the best design schools in the world. Always hungry to learn but mainly looking for an excuse to extend his stay, he enrolled at Ar Center College of Design, and in 1993, he completed a BFA in graphic design and packaging, and a few years later an MFA in media and communications and the same school. When he started out, graphic design was pretty much hands on. Designers had to know how to draw, paint, photograph, process and produce. They got dirty. They sliced their fingers on their straight edge. Scherrer liked designing with the tools of his trade but he was also adaptable, and eventually – like everyone else – he transitioned from drawing boards and paper to computer screens and design applications. He also made the leap from hired gun to running his own design studio. Years later, with a successful studio and a substantial portfolio of creative, professional work, Scherrer returned to his first medium – painting. Now, his hands get dirty. He smells his medium. His tools are real. Sometimes he returns to the computer to set typography to use in his paintings, but mostly he works with acrylic on canvas. Although there is a sense of chaos or freeform, in fact, Scherrer maintains a grid – sometimes hidden, sometimes more obvious. “I think my work is very reflective of who I am,” he says. “It reflects my Swiss training as a graphic designer, which is ordered, in opposition to my rebellious side and very anti-Swiss. It’s the painfully shy side of me and the outgoing side.”
what inspires me is the ever-changing landscape of southern california and the city that I’m a part of. the dynamics between neighborhoods and social structures. control and organization compete against chaos and re-invention.
peter scherrer mousetrap@mac.com