BACKGROUND:
I was born in Dunedin, New Zealand. I am of maori descent from the "Ngai Tahu" tribe of the south island.

From an early age I loved to draw and paint. I was six years old when I entered my first art exhibition, and came 3rd in Otago. I have studied art throughout primary and secondary schools, where I advanced to 7th year university bursary level art studies and then attended the Dunedin School of Fine Arts.
I have specialized in a field of art, that I have named "post modern surrealism". The digital paintings viewed in the gallery are based on drawings, oil paintings, and sculptures that I completed at art school, and in private commissions. The artists that under pinned and influenced my work are wide and varied, but for the sake of this consideration I will briefly deal with those that have had the most impact on my surrealistic development.

The two primary founders of surrealism were Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. Personally I was moved by Magritte's work as I felt he remained true to the doctrines of surrealism, (and his influence can be seen in suite 4) while Dali began incorporating christian archetypes and symbolism into his paintings which I felt had been over done during the churches dominance of artistic patronage in previous centuries.
The contemporary New Zealand surrealist artist Brent Wong has had a dramatic impact on my work and has influenced my style and development. His large scale architectural sculptures floating above contemporary landscapes struck a deep cord in me. Part of my being sung out in total awe of these paintings and I celebrate the dramatic impact that this artist has had on my work by listing his influence in suite 1 and incorporating these surrealistic motif's in my logo.

The sculptural works of Alexandra Liberman has also had a dramatic effect, which can be seen in suite 3.
A more detailed description of primary and secondary influences will be considered on the "influences"page.

PROPRIETOR / ARTIST: PETER MATHIAS

MISSION STATEMENT AND VISION:
My work is not merely about pretty pictures that you may want to hang on your wall. It's about another perspective. It is my intention to help serve the process of replacing the current core assumptions that lie at the center of western civilization.
It is the disposition of "GROSS MATERIALISM." The assumption that everything is reducible to the physical world ONLY, that has corrupted everything!
It is the foundation upon which our science is conducted. Our politics. Our economics. Even our
social interactions. We see each oter as separate and isolated. Hence it defines the way we treat and relate to one another. The way we see ourselves and the world around us. It underpins our mode of operation!
It is killing everything, our spirit, our dreams, and the dreams of our children!

I offer a different vision. A counter point to this dark interpretation of life, that is forced down our throats. With 27 years of observational studies, I have embraced the concept of Kulturphilosoph, a German term that literally means "cultural philosopher."
I am a student of oil painting, sculpture, literature, poetry, psychology, the occult, eastern spirituality, and western science. I have lived and worked in 5 countries in the south pacific, and was initiated by a Siddha Master, Adi Da Samraji in 1998.

I embrace and celebrate life, with the understanding that you become what you meditate upon. The images in my art are life positive, full of space and light.
They silently communicate the underlying sea of infinite energy. Of interconnectedness. Of Prior Unity.
Of Relatedness, not separateness merely trying to survive.
A new vision for our children. Based not only on ancient wisdom, but confirmed through our latest discoveries.
There are 12 suites comprising 200 digital paintings, all dealing with a surrealistic theme.

Surrealism deals with images from our subconscious, the familiar and the unknown.
That which is hidden, almost accessible, yet lying just beneath the surface.
It is the interface between the seen and unseen, that I truly find exciting.
The 3rd dimensional world we are so familiar with. That sees everything as separate and isolated.
And the 4th dimensional realm that sees everything as one. Everything as energy.
Using the juxtaposition of objects within contexts that are real yet unreal.
Impossible shapes and forms suspended above realistic landscapes.
Volumetric displacement, and the deliberate use of accentuated scale.

Pushing the viewer beyond what he has been led and told to believe.

Each digital painting or Gliche' is available for purchase and will be limited to 10 prints using archival pigmented inks rated at 120 years.