Peter
ANTON
Biography
Peter Anton (1963, New Haven, Connecticut) is an American artist and sculptor. His primary subject matter is food with an emphasis on chocolates and other sweets. Often referred to as "Candy Warhol," Anton creates giant realistic sculptures and is best known for his "bigger than life" boxed chocolates.
At times Anton's studio can resemble a sweet shop since it is filled with dozens of real treats which he uses as models. His beginning process is to eat, smell, feel, study and dissect a new food over and over again in order to hyper-familiarize himself with the new subject. He then begins the long and tedious process of sculpting, carving, sanding, painting, and construction of his mixed media works.
"In my sculptures I like to alter and overstate foods to give them new meanings. I have an innate reverence for the things we eat. Food brings people together and there is no better way to celebrate life. Through the use of humor, scale, irony, and intensity in my forms, the foods we take for granted become aesthetically pleasing and seductive in atypical ways. I like to create art that can lure, charm, tease, disarm and surprise. My sculptures put viewers in a vulnerable state so that I can communicate with their inner selves in a more honest and direct way. I activate the hunger people have for the things that give them pleasure and force them to surrender. The sensual nature of the works stimulates basic human needs and desires that generate cravings and passion."
Peter Anton