Peter Mcdonald
Sun Orchestra, 2021
£200
EDITION SIZE: 50 with 4 A/P (signed and numbered by the artist, recto)
FINISHING: Giclée print, archival ink
on acid free lightfast Hahnemühle German etching paper, 310 gsm
DIMENSIONS: 42 x 34cm
*(unframed) plus post and packaging
Barts Health NHS staff recieve a 10% discount on all editions
Sun Orchestra is one of two limited edition prints by Peter McDonald, which form an extension to the installation the artist created for the Adult Critical Care Unit (ACCU) at The Royal London Hospital in 2016. Both prints feature McDonald’s exuberant and fanciful reflections of everyday life—much of which was in suspension during the Covid-19 lockdown. This whimsical image of an orchestra performing while descending a chairlift is particularly resonant in 2021 after so much live music fell silent. At the height of the pandemic, McDonald sought to support NHS workers at the ACCU and donated an additional artwork depicting pedestrians wearing masks, which was meaningful, and deeply appreciated by clinical staff. His concern for healthcare workers continues with his nomination of Care Workers Charity to receive part of the proceeds from the sale of this print.
Peter McDonald, who lives between London and Tokyo, draws on daily occurrences to create paintings that tell a collective story. He employs a unique graphic language that depicts recognisable vignettes which highlight the joy of human experience. His works are populated by quirky figures—in a cafe, at the hairdresser, in the playground, on the football pitch, around a boardroom table, in the classroom—as well as engaging in other activities that represent the contemporary world of work and leisure Some scenarios extend to more exotic activities—surfing, skiing, or riding a chair lift. The enlarged, irregularly-shaped heads of these characters represent the psychological space—a zone of dreams, ideas, concerns and desires—that each of us carries with us.
Peter McDonald was born in Tokyo in 1973. He studied at Central Saint Martins School and graduated from the Royal Academy Schools in 2000. In 2017 McDonald was awarded a fellowship at the British School at Rome. Recent exhibitions include Roppongi Art Night, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2016; Making and Unmaking, Camden Arts Centre, London, 2016; Winnebago, Carpets, Onsen, Potter, Daiwa Foundation, London, 2013 and Visitor, a year-long residency at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, 2011-12. In 2008 he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize and in 2009, London Underground commissioned McDonald to produce Art for Everybody, a large-scale billboard installation at Southwark station. Articles about the artist’s work have appeared in The Observer, The Financial Times, and Time Out.
Proceeds from the sale of this print will support Care Workers Charity and the Vital Arts programme.
Please Note that prices may be subject to change. As is customary in edition publishing, prices will rise as the edition begins to sell out.
In this series
