Claire Oliver Gallery is pleased to announce When You See Them, You See Me, the debut solo exhibition by artist Robert Peterson. Featuring 13 life-scale oil on canvas figurative paintings, Peterson aims to capture time through his art, highlighting Black family life as joyous, loving, and balanced. Robert Peterson (b. 1981) is a contemporary artist specializing in figurative painting with a concentration on portraiture. Currently living and working in Lawton, Oklahoma. Peterson is quickly rising as one of this country’s most celebrated emerging artists. He aims to create beautiful works of art that reflect a softer side of Black people yet still shows their strength and resilience, something that he believes is not seen and exhibited enough throughout galleries and museums. So often Black men and women are unfairly stereotyped, and fractured family dynamics are what the media and popular culture choose to highlight. Peterson looks at his work as an opportunity to flip the narrative and shed light on the strength, resilience, and gentleness of the Black community that is hardly ever showcased. "My paintings and the people I paint will live forever, longer than you or I. Black men and boys are gunned down and dying daily and to often they don’t get the chance to live long lives. My goal with every painting especially those focusing on a black person is to not only change the narrative of how black people are seen but also to make sure that they get a chance to live forever through my works similar to the stories and paintings of Kings and Saints." -Robert Peterson ✨ @caleblee81 @claireolivergallery ✨ 1-2. Robert Peterson Love is Love, 2022 Oil on Canvas 60 x 60 in. 3-5. Robert Peterson She is Like Water, 2022 Oil on Canvas 30 x 30 in. 6-7. Robert Peterson Three Brothers, 2022 Oil on Canvas 40 x 60 in. 8-9. Robert Peterson American Muscle, 2022 Diptych, Oil on Canvas 60 x 80 in. 10. Gallery View. #claireolivergallery #robertpeterson #figurativepainting #unfairlystereotyped #contemporaryartist #portraiture #emergingartist #skintones #radicalart #politicized