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HISTORY
    Born 1966, Long Beach California
    Self-taught turner and sculptor
    Full-time studio artist since 1992

STATEMENT
    I take an intuitive and spontaneous approach to my work.  The action of shaping the wood with my hand-held tools is satisfying in a very basic    way.  As I work the wood, I collaborate with it.  The wood has a voice and I have a voice; we interact.  The finished piece illustrates that interplay.

PUBLICATIONS                                                                                                                                      
    500 Wood Bowls, Lark Books, 2004
    “New York Times Magazine,” Home Design, Fall 2003
    “American Craft Magazine,” October/November 2002
    Scratching the Surface, Art and Content in Contemporary Wood, Guild Publishing, 2002              
    Challenge IV-Roots: Insights and Inspirations in Contemporary Turned Objects, Wood Turning Center, 2001
    “American Craft Magazine,” February/March 2000
    “Turning Points,” Summer 2000
     “Cote Ouest,” February/March 2000
    Style Brut, Flammarion, 1999

EXHIBITIONS
    Wood Fired, W.D.O., Charlotte, NC, December 2004
    Whole Grain, Special Exhibit, SOFA, Chicago, IL October 2004
    Four New Visions, Gallery North, Setauket, NY, October 2004
    George Petereson and Molly Doctrow, Focus Gallery, Asheville, NC, August 2004
    Wood Currents, Andora Gallery, Carefree, AZ, December 2003
    One Step Back, Two Steps Forward, Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, October 2003
    Nature of Craft, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO, January 2003
    George Peterson and Mathew Fine, Andora Gallery, Carefree, AZ, December 2002
    SOFA Chicago, del Mano Gallery, Chicago, IL, October 2002
    New Talent in Craft II, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, IL, September 2002
    Turned and Sculpted Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, August 2002
    Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC, April 2002
    Branching Out, Ellipse Art Gallery, Arlington, VA, April 2002
    Masters of Turned Wood, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, August 2001
    Turned Wood 2001, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, June 2001
    SOFA New York, del Mano Gallery, New York, NY, May 2001
    Sculptural Invitational, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC, May 2001
    A Way With Wood, Signature Shop, Atlanta, GA, April 2001
    Diversity and Exploration: New Forms in Wood, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO, April 2001
    Turning Wood, Painting Landscapes, Upstairs Gallery, Tryon, NC, April 2001      
    Turned Multiples II, Woodturning Center, Philadelphia, PA, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO,
    Saskatchewan Crafts Council, Saskatoon, March 2001
    New Artists, New Works, New Year, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC, January 2001
    SOFA Chicago, del Mano Gallery, Chicago, IL, November 2000
    New Members Exhibition, Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC, October 2000
    AllTURNatives, Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, MD, August 2000

GRANTS AND HONORS
    Excellence Award, American Craft Council, February 2004
    Regional Artist Grant, North Carolina Arts Council, January 2004
    Crafters’ Choice Award, Smithsonian Craft Show, April 2002
    ArtPark, Oak Hill Project, outdoor sculpture installation, May 2001
    Regional Artist Grant, North Carolina Arts Council, January 2001

EXCERPT
    “...George Peterson’s scorched turnings of unrefined chunks of wood draw attention to the nature of the turning process and to the primal character of wood by presenting both in a fashion which in other circumstances might be seen as a grotesque mistake.  By violating ordinary rules, Peterson reveals a view and unexpected beauty.  He records his process as an interactive dance of energy and resistance in which something of discord plays a leading role.  Controlled danger and power are intrinsic to turning and, therefore, implicit in even the most refined turned objects.  By rejecting pre-ordained from and absolute control, Peterson makes process an explicit part of the content of his work.  The work, though, is not simply about turning, it suggests a context in which approximations, accidents, and irregularity have a positive meaning, a world which rewards boldness and simplicity.”
    Robin Rice, “A Fruitful Balance Between Influence and Originality”