Peter's Story
Peter Lattey grew up in a Vernon BC, Canada surrounded by mountains, pine trees, sagebrush and beautiful lakes. He spent his youth in the mountains and lakes there and developed a love for wood and natural forms at an early age. He studied Art and Architecture at the University of British Columbia starting in 1968.
He lived for two years in Papua New Guinea, where the art and carvings had a great influence on him. He lived in the rain forest of Vancouver Island, surrounded by giant cedars, Douglas fir, alder and hemlock trees and of course, totem poles. He moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and returned to BC in 2014.
He draws inspiration from his surroundings.
Peter's Story
Peter Lattey grew up in a Vernon BC, Canada surrounded by mountains, pine trees, sagebrush and beautiful lakes. He spent his youth in the mountains and lakes there and developed a love for wood and natural forms at an early age. He studied Art and Architecture at the University of British Columbia starting in 1968.
He lived for two years in Papua New Guinea, where the art and carvings had a great influence on him. He lived in the rain forest of Vancouver Island, surrounded by giant cedars, Douglas fir, alder and hemlock trees and of course, totem poles. He moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and returned to BC in 2014.
He draws inspiration from his surroundings.
CURRICULUM VITAE
1945 Born in Birch Hills Saskatchewan.
1947 Moved to Vernon BC to be closer to the mountains (that’s what my father said)
1962 Graduated from Vernon high School.
1965 to 1968 Traveled in Europe. Visited many major art galleries and museums and observed the architecture.
1968 to 1970 Studied architecture at UBC
1972 to 1974 Spent 2 years in Papua New Guinea with CUSO designing simple buildings
1974 to 1975 Sailed own yacht from Papua New Guinea to Vancouver across the South Pacific, 12,000 nautical miles, mostly against the wind.
1975 Graduated from UBC with Bachelor of Architecture
1975 to 2000 Worked as an architect in Vancouver, Australia and Comox
2000 to 2014 Worked as an Architect in Los Angeles. Developed a vocabulary of wood sculptures.
2014 Purchased a home in Burnaby in order to spend more time there.
2014 to present Divides time between Los Angeles and Burnaby. Maintains a sculpture studio in both locations.
EXHIBITIONS
June 2002, White’s Gallery, Montrose, California, USA
June 2003, Design In Wood, San Diego, California. Three Honorable Mentions
November 2003, Americana, Decorative Arts Guild, Burbank Municipal Gallery, California
May 2005, Santa Monica Festival, Santa Monica California
April 2010, Ishikawa International Salon, Kanazawa, Japan
May 2017, Parents Show, Parking Spot Gallery, Vancouver Canada
August 2017, Deer Lake Gallery, Burnaby Canada
April 2018, Naam Restaurant, Vancouver Canada
August 2019, Deer Lake Gallery, Burnaby Canada
Faces from my mind
Float separately
Linked by the soul of an old tree
Peaceful and strong
My first art training was art lessons from Ms. Topham Brown, a Vernon BC artist. I was 8 or 9 at the time.
I started sculpting in wood in 2000, creating organic, abstract forms that I described as “Jazz in Wood”. The forms and shapes flowed sensuously with one surface flowing into another. I found these satisfying but found people did not have an emotional connection with them, which I consider essential for art.
MASKS FROM MY MIND. Currently I am exploring the emotions and expressions of the human face. These pieces are sometimes individual Masks and sometimes a chorus of Masks in a single piece. I find the emotional connection people have with my work very satisfying, even when their emotion is not what I feel from the piece.