Pike artist wins national competition

MILFORD — Peter Fiore, artist and resident of Pike County, won first place for his landscape painting, “End of Winter” in The Artist’s Magazine Annual Competition for 2007. The painting, selected out of 11,000 entries, was inspired by a field and barn on Clove Road in Montague New Jersey. Fiore says, “I’ve passed this site for years. In fact, in the summer you can’t even see the barn, but in winter things are simpler; the bare bones show more. One day the field in the foreground was still covered in snow because of the tree’s long shadows. That contrast—the shadows and the warm sunlit field behind—intrigued me.” After studying and photographing this field and barn on numerous occasions, Fiore painted it and has painted it again and again. He says, while he is happy to receive the recognition for his painting, he is looking forward to creating new work. Peter Fiore’s landscape paintings focus on the everyday beauty that many take for granted. He was recently featured in the July/August 2007 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur, the premier magazine for art collectors, as an “artist to watch.” They stated “Although Fiore’s colors are richer than those of his fellow Pennsylvanian Andrew Wyeth, both men impart a touch of romantic nostalgia to empty spaces, without crossing that invisible border into sentiment or prettiness.” Fiore studied at Pratt Institute and the Art Students League in New York City. He’s been on the faculty at Pratt Institute, Syracuse and presently teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Fiore’s landscape paintings are widely collected and his work is represented in prestigious galleries across the country. The Artist’s Magazine showcases the best work of the best artists working today. Peter Fiore, who had won an honorable mention in last year’s competition, also received recognition this year for three other outstanding paintings inspired by the rural landscape in the tri-state area. The Artist’s Magazine will be on newsstands this December. For more information about Peter Fiore and his work, please visit his website http://www.peterfiore.com.