ABOUT CHRIS
"The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable."
-Robert Henri
Hi there! My name is Chris.
I'm an Utah-based artist specializing in murals, custom installations and creative public engagement. My vision as an artist has been shaped by a career in grassroots organizations and an outdoor lifestyle.
I believe art and nature are therapeutic. I am blessed to make a living in the space of both. I draw inspiration from the world of sensations, natural sciences, and stories of places. My designs are rooted in the American West, and draw upon the depths of my imagination and the science of visual phenomena.
My creative work explores the therapeutic power of art and nature in modern life.
Bio
B.F.A Fine Art Painting-BYU & Kansas City Art Institute
M.P.A. Nonprofit Management & Environmental Policy- University of Utah
M.S. Environmental Humanities & Leadership Development- University of Utah
I grew up in the foothills of Timpanogos along Utah’s Wasatch Front. In my twenties, I served an LDS mission in the South Bronx (where I first saw rad street art), studied painting at BYU and the Kansas City Art Institute, and spent time living and painting in New York City. I also took semesters off to explore the wild corners of the American West for inspiration and solitude.
In 2001, I pivoted from studio artmaking to pursue graduate education in conservation, education, and community-building. I earned an M.P.A. in Nonprofit Management & Environmental Policy and an M.S. in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah, focusing on conflict resolution and leadership development. During this time, my organizational work included Colorado River restoration, tribal coalition-building, co-founding a charter school, conservation leadership development, teaching as a K-6 art specialist, and rural development humanitarian work in East Africa and South Asia. I also directed the Sorenson Unity Center’s civic engagement and westside arts programs for Salt Lake City.
In 2009, I began moonlighting on murals and organizing community arts and youth-centered park visioning projects as a strategy to combat "nature deficit disorder." I collaborated with various organizations to provide youth arts programming, including community murals with youth and students across Utah and in Uganda and Cambodia.
Photo by Kelli Freshman.
In 2017, I was commissioned to install a 45-foot jaguar mural, which inspired me to restart my studio practice and refine my painting and design processes around wildlife concepts and large scale formats.
In 2022, I partnered with the Utah Wildlife Federation to launch the Utah Wildlife Walls Project—an arts, science, and public engagement campaign to celebrate wildlife in every county. This project included the installation of 29 wildlife murals, one in each county. I’m the principal of Chris Peterson Studio LLC., based in Holladay, Utah. Today, my practice includes mixed-media studio paintings, large-scale murals, placemaking projects, and custom installations.
Photo by Pat Clifford
