ARTIST BIO

Tara Peters is a visual artist of Keres (Santo Domingo Pueblo) and European decent. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and moved to New York at the age of 3. Tara comes from a family of artists. Her mother is a children’s book illustrator and her father was a jewelry silversmith.

As a child Tara watched her mother attend art school and remembers accompanying her to a life-drawing class. "My mom had to do some explaining when my kindergarten teacher got upset after I drew some naked people in class!" She also remembers when her mother had an assignment to do an emulation of a famous artist's work. "She painted one of Georgia O'Keeffe's skull bones against the New Mexico sky and desert. I immediately felt a connection to her work and she has been my favorite artist ever since. I know that some people are tired of seeing her work but I never will. There is a legitimate reason why she is so famous-she had a special way of seeing the world." Other well known artist's that she received inspiration from along the way are; Andrew Wyeth, Vermeer and Roxanne Swentzell. "There are also plenty of lesser known artists that inspire me as well."

Tara has a particular appreciation for the watercolor and oil mediums and uses them to paint subjects of natural and cultural beauty in vibrant color. It is a combination of surreal landscape, symbolism, and portraiture that she enjoys creating most. "What has intrigued me recently are paintings that tell a story, like Frida Kahlo's work. My painting entitled, "Taking Nelly for a drink" (shown at right) is about a pueblo girl who decides she'd rather take her horse for a walk in the mountains than partake in the dances at her village."
Tara received her Associates in Applied Arts from Westchester Community College and her Bachelor’s of Arts concentrating in the Visual Arts from Empire State College.

Tara was the arts organizer and gift shop's sales and buyer, as well as a member of the arts committe for The Institute of American Indian Arts. She has worked as curatorial assistant for The American Indian Community House Gallery and assistant to Director of Public Affairs at The National Museum of the American Indian. She also was a member of a Native artists’ cooperative in Vancouver called First Nations Creations. Tara is currently collaborating with her husband Ron Peters creating and performing original puppet shows and presentations for children. Together, they believe strongly that teaching the creation stories of our people through art and performance can help keep the memories and lessons of the old ones alive.

EXHIBITIONS

New York Mix: Art of the Five "Civilized" Boroughs
American Indian Community House Gallery, NY, NY Jan-Mar 2005

Group Exhibition
First Nations Creations Artist Co-op, Vancouver, BC Canada Mar-Feb 2002

Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe? Women Crossing Borders
Henry Street Settlement Abron Arts Center, NY, NY Dec 2001

People of the Rain, Native American Art Exhibit
Woodstock, NY Aug 2001

Mother Love: Native Women and the Land
American Indian Community House Gallery, NY, NY Oct-Dec 2000