Microcosms

Peregrine Icon, Gold leaf & gouache on panel, 25 in. x 25 in., ©2024. Peter D. Gerakaris

A self-described free-range child from rural New Hampshire, interdisciplinary artist Peter D. Gerakaris is known for using a vibrant style to honor endangered and exotic flora and fauna. His artwork and large-scale installations appear worldwide. He returns to the Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG) this summer, where his Spotted Owl Mosaic was installed in 2021, a permanent, site-specific piece that continues to delight visitors of all ages. “It really doesn't become a complete artwork until it engages with its audience through the garden setting,” says Gerakaris, who was married at BBG and says that his upcoming show is like coming home. The Spotted Owl Mosaic is translated directly from a painting in his Icon Series, works that involve the meticulous process of applying gold leaf to create luminosity reminiscent of traditional Byzantine icons. Gerakaris’ Icon Series transposes endangered and rare species of flora and fauna into Neo-Byzantine iconography. Owls were his first Icon motif; the series now includes aquatic life, orchids, and pollinators. Peregrine Icon, pictured here, is his most complex Icon painting to date. “Society's disconnection with the environment is central to my work,” says Gerakaris. “The work strives to mend this divide and hopefully inspires conversation about how nature and culture can meaningfully converge.” He lives and works in Cornwall, Connecticut. His solo exhibition, Microcosms will include Icon paintings on panel, small mosaic fragments translated from details of existing Icon paintings, origami sculptures, and works inspired by topographies and native species of the Housatonic River Valley. Leonhardt Galleries at Berkshire Botanical Garden, June 7–August 4; opening reception Saturday, June 8, 5–7 p.m.  

— Laura Mars May/June 24