Imperfectly perfect, together

Robert Peterson’s self-taught painting technique has been masterfully honed over the past decade with his signature use of bold colors, such as vibrant blues, to depict the body. Imperfectly perfect, together, his largest work to date, illuminates the sacred journey of Black love. In the practice of depicting the mundane, he sees the power that resides in the radical act of rendering visibility for Black Americans. He refers to this painting as one that acknowledges the many imperfections that individuals have, transcended in union by unconditional love that stands the test of time and becomes a portrait of an aspiration toward perfection. “I am thinking about the future—how centuries from now I want people to view Black people and Black families engaging with normalcy and harmony.”