Peter Anton: "Sweet Spot" | New York
Some call him the Candyman, others refer to him as Candy Warhol, and still countless of others know him solely via the highly realistic, brightly colored large-scale sculptures of chocolates, candy, assorted sweets and deserts that have become his namesake. But whatever the moniker may be, Peter Anton’s exhibition, Sweet Spot, will open to large crowds and awaiting fans at Bonner David Galleries in New York’s Upper East Side, October 31st.
Exclusively for this exhibition, Anton has created a full menu of new desserts, including his first-ever Pop-Tart– although this one is about five feet by four feet and filled with richly painted strawberry goodness.
And while artists are always told to ‘paint what they love,’ Anton altered this slightly to paint ‘what you love to eat.’
“I was never a fussy eater,” says Anton. “I used to open a box of chocolates and you know how it goes, you take a bite of one, put it back, try another, and eventually find one that I liked. I would eat one piece every night before I went to bed. I grew up at a time when the entire family sat down for dinner. It was not only about eating great food that was presented beautifully it was also about the discussion we had around the table.”
Anton sculpted his first box of chocolates way back in 1992 and a longtime New York gallery hung it on his wall. Anton left the gallery and, during the train ride back to his home in Connecticut, the painting sold.
“That’s how it started,” says Anton. “That was during a time when these small chocolatiers started popping up and they started experimenting with colors and types of chocolate and I always thought the more colorful they were the more interesting they become,” says Anton.
Anton starts his process by creating individual realistic chocolates, looking at the various shapes, textures, and colors they offer, and then placing them all on the floor and arranging the shapes like an abstract painting.
“I’ll move the green, the oranges, whatever it takes to get the harmony and composition just right, says Anton. “I treat these like a visual composition and piece them together like a visual puzzle.”
This past summer, The Fairfield University Art Museum hosted a solo exhibition for Anton titled Just desserts. The exhibition included ice cream cones, cakes and other assorted confections and it turned out to be the most well-attended show the museum has every held.
“We had 10,000 visitors for the first time in one fiscal year,” says Museum Director Carey Weber. “This is our fifteenth anniversary and we just received our AA accreditation so we were able to have professional guards and keep the museum open all the way through July. For the summer exhibition, we wanted to choose something that would be exciting for the community, something fun that would make people smile. And Peter did all that and more.”
The museum exhibition offered visitors a chance to see a variety of Anton’s work and, of course, interact with it as people are known to do. For Anton’s fans and supporters, this all includes posing for and posting images on the various social media platforms. Anton’s social media has exploded ever since his installation in 2012 at Art Basel in Miami and he currently boasts nearly one hundred thousand followers on Instagram.
“The opening brought in people from all over,” says Weber. “Anton has a lot of fans and people were really excited to come and see the work. Our guards had so much work to do because people want to touch them, lick them, take photos and interact with the work. They are just so appealing and they take you back to certain moments in life.”
Sweet Spot opens naturally October 31 and runs through November 30. There will be an opening reception open to the public October 31st from 6 to 8pm. Bonner David Galleries in New York City is located at 22 E. 81st Street, New York, NY 10028. Information can be found at www.bdgartboutique.com.
