Heather Pieters
Metro Detroit, Michigan
Heather Pieters is from upstate New York. Her pieces are found in collections internationally. She now lives and works in Metro Detroit.
Message
Heather Pieters is a contemporary artist who was born and raised in upstate New York. As an undergraduate, she studied fine art and art history at Stony Brook University on the outskirts of New York City. Following this, she resided in Southern California and spent a sabbatical in Paris, immersing herself in culture and art.
Pieters enjoyed a season of her career in Philadelphia and Los Angeles teaching and exhibiting and is now based in Metro Detroit. She is best known for her eloquent manipulation of paint, creating nuances of color with a transcendental quality that invites viewers to explore the work.
Pieters received her MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. In addition, she has been featured in the Art in America Annual Guide as well as international art fairs, including Red Dot Miami, Art Basel Miami, Artexpo New York, and the Los Angeles Art Show.
Statement
My work is influenced by my ecological and social surroundings focusing on the ideas of place. I use nuances of color and texture to generating a platform for observation and awareness. Recently I have been interested in working directly with my surroundings by placing my work in public or bucolic like spaces where it can be affected by natural elements and social interactions: rain, sun, theft, vandalism etc. I find this ingredient of suspense or lack of control inspiring. It seems to add a depth to my work that I was looking for, an area to explore where limits are not easily met.
These explorations tie back into the underline concept of my work which is place; the actual place on this earth where I stand, my place on the time line of history. The idea of place has always fascinated me, even as a child and since having my own child the idea of place has become a fore thought to my days. Trepidation for the future ecological and social surrounds that my son will live in, run through my mind and spill out in my work.