About Peter
Peter Leue (pronounced Loya) (b. 1946) has worked in wood and mixed media for five decades. He studied with Wendell Castle and Bill Keyser at the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1968. An award-winning artist and craftsman, Peter concentrates on interactive and functional sculpture.
After spending 12 years teaching, Peter began full-time woodworking in 1981, and for over two decades, specialized in architectural reproduction woodworking, for which he won a Preservation Merit Award from the Historic Albany Foundation in 1984. In 2000, he began the restoration of an 1850's Gothic Revival cottage, which resulted in another Preservation Merit Award in 2004. In 2007, he sold his large shop and designed and built a 900-square-foot studio next to his home.
Though his work has ranged from architectural woodworking to fine studio furniture and cabinetry to whimsical sculptural pieces, Peter now concentrates on creating sculpture, functional sculpture, commissioned studio furniture and interactive works of art.
Peter's work has been shown internationally, in Taipei, Taiwan, in the eastern US, and in Arizona.
After moving to Tucson in 2019, Peter joined the Tubac Arts Center and entered the 2020 Member Show and won an honorable mention for his sculpture, El Mugido. He entered the 2021 Member Show and received an Award of Excellence for his Pond Tables.
Exhibits and Shows
Member Show, Tubac Arts Center, Tubac, AZ. August-September 2021
Member Select Show, Tubac Arts Center, Tubac, AZ. November 2020-January 2021
Member Show, Tubac Arts Center, Tubac, AZ. August-September 2020
Member Show, Albany Center Gallery, Albany, NY 2019
Member Show, Albany Center Gallery, Albany, NY. December 2015.
Finding Our Place Group Show, Annemarie Gardens and Sculpture Park, Dowell, MD, October 2015-January 2016.
Real People 2015 Group Show, Old Courthouse Arts Center, Woodstock, IL, August-September 2015
Heroes and Villains Group Show, Annmarie Gardens and Sculpture Park, Dowell, MD, June-August 2015
Wide Open 6 Group Show, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, May-June 2015
Around the Table group show, Stage 1 at The Barn, Albany, NY. January 2015
Member Show, Albany Center Gallery, Albany, NY December 2014
Brave New Dances, eba Dance Theatre. Dance performance using Musical Chairs sculpture as a basis for newly choreographed dance works. Albany, NY. November 2014.
Play Me, I'm Yours, an international art exhibition using adorned and altered pianos in Albany, NY, June-July 2014.
Two-man show sponsored by the Taipei Puppetry Museum in City Hall, Taipei, Taiwan, Jan-March 2014.
Upstate Artists, a group show of work by artists from the Albany-Saratoga region, curated by David Miller, Professor Emeritus at Skidmore College, at the Laffer Gallery, Schuylerville, NY. November 29, 2013-January 5, 2014.
Historic Albany Foundation “Built” art show. November 2013
Rhapsody in Wood: two one-man shows at the GuanXiang Gallery and the Danish Warehouse Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. October-November 2013.
Crest Hardware Art Show 2013. A hardware-themed group show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Jun-August 2013. Showing the Crest Annunciator 2013, the latest in the Homage to A.C. Gilbert series.
Working/Drawing, a group show featuring artists' working drawings and photos of completed works. Fulton Street Gallery, Albany, NY. Jan. 25 through March 9, 2013.
Upstate Artists, a group show of work by artists from the Albany-Saratoga region curated by Elizabeth Drubben, at the Laffer Gallery, Schuylerville, NY. December 9, 2012 through January 20, 2013.
Fourscore Gateway, commissioned by the Center for Economic Growth and Proctors Theatre for the CEG annual meeting, October 24, 2012. Piece remained in the arcade at Proctors Theatre, through November 2012.
One-day installation, Crossroads of Imagination, at the opening reception for the MoHu Fest, a 10-day "holiday for the arts" in the Mohawk-Hudson River Region of New York State. This four-county celebration of the arts was held in an unused hangar at the Albany International Airport, a space large enough to accommodate this massive 40' X 40' X 22' installation. October 2012.
Exhibit featuring Deus ex Machina: Reconfigured, with works by Dave Dziemian, Kathleen Erin Lee, Mary Giehl, Alexander Percy and Brian Loatman. Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon, NY. September 2012
Exhibit featuring Deus ex Machina, with paintings by Kathleen Erin Lee, Mary Giehl, Barbara AG Riddle and Steven Riddle. Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon, NY. August 2012
"Marquis" pieces in group show, Crest Hardware Art Show, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, July–August 2012.
Intertwined group show, at the Desotorow Gallery, Savannah, GA, February 2012.
Group Show, with Mary Giehl, Brian Edwards, David DeCampo, Michael Krasowitz, Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon, NY, October 2011
Fence Select Show, The Arts Center of the Capital District, Troy, NY, July-August, 2011
Fence Show, The Arts Center of the Capital District, June-July 2011
Structure group show with Abe Ferraro, Marketplace Gallery, Albany, NY, June 2011
Knock it Off, Albany Center Gallery show, May 2011
Heavy, group show organized by Marketplace Gallery, at the Historic Albany Foundation-owned St. Joseph's Church, July 2010.
Re-Arting Troy, Troy Atrium Building, Troy, NY, June-October 2009
Knock it Off, Albany Center Gallery show, May 2009
Then and Now group show, Albany Center Gallery show, January 2009
Beyond Functional Art show, Fulton Street Gallery, Troy, NY, June 1999
16th Northeast Fine Crafts Exhibit, Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, NY, 1998
Out of the Woodwork Invitational show, Catskill Gallery, Catskill, NY, 1981
Fifth Regional Craft Show (juried), Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, NY, 1975
Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Man Invitational show, Short Hills, NJ, 1971
One man show, Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, NY, 1969
Awards
Award of Excellence, Tubac Arts Center Member Show, August 2021
Honorable Mention, Tubac Arts Center Member Show, August 2020.
Nancy Hyatt Liddle Award for Best in Show at BUILT, Historic Albany Foundation's annual art show and sale, November 2013.
Rounds 1,2, 4 and 5 Showcase Winner in the Artslant.com Artslant Prize 2012 Showcase.
One of Top Fifty Winners of the Third Ward, Brooklyn Fall Open Call, an international artists' competition. January 2012.
First Place in show: 16th Northeast Fine Crafts Exhibit curated by Ursala Ilse-Neuman, curator at the American Crafts Museum, NYC. Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, NY, 1998.
First Place in annual show, Northeastern Woodworkers Association, 1998
Historic Albany Foundation Individual Preservation Merit Award, for exemplary preservation craftsmanship, 1984
Historic Albany Foundation Preservation Merit Award, for restoration of a Gothic cottage, 2004 (with Nancy M Burton)
Press
Albany Times Union, Hey, Hey it's the Posers!, by Paul Grondahl, January 28, 2014
Albany Times Union, Artful Ivories Beg to be Tinkled, by Amy Biancoli, June 10, 2014
Frank 151: Crest Fest 2103 Spotlight: Peter Leue, June 2013
Albany Times Union, "On Exhibit: 'Working/Drawing' emphasizes sculptors' processes by Amy Griffin, February 14, 2013
Hudson Valley Parent (online magazine), "Albany artist takes kid's toys and makes them GIANT sized," September 2012
YNN News, "Giant erector set on display at local art gallery," first aired August 9, 2012.
life@home, a Times Union Publication: "The Fun of the Craft: the funny, punny furniture and sculpture of Peter Leue," March 2012
YNN News: "Exhibit Brings Together Local Artists," January, 2009
SpotlightNews.com: “The artists of ‘Then and Now’ keep the mood light at Albany Center Gallery,” 12/30/08 (also in regional print weeklies)
Hudson Valley Magazine: “Picture Perfect: Beneath half a ton of stucco, Peter Leue and Nancy Burton discovered--and then lovingly restored—a Gothic Revival gem in Albany,” November 2005
Albany Times Union: “A new shed, in an old style,” 11/28/2004
Albany Times Union: “Hole in the Wall gallery offers visitors interactive art,” 8/13/2000
Albany Times Union: “Whimsy art delights: Levity rules in ‘Beyond Functional Art,’ combining craft and artistry” 6/27/1999
Schenectady Gazette: “Woodworking takes top prize at Northeast Fine Crafts Exhibit,” 4/16/1998
Schenectady Gazette: “As Wood as New—Custom craftsmen create designs from originals,” 5/16/1993
Capital District Business Review: “Peter Leue carving his initials in wood on Albany cityscape,” 10/27/1986
Schenectady Gazette: “Clues of Past Abound in House Paint, Plaster,” 11/18/1985
The Albany Times Union: Manchester, VT. “Hotel columns get new life,” 5/3/1985
The Albany Times Union: “Albany rehabs honored,” May 19, 1984
Albany Knickerbocker News: “Craftsman gives Albany house a Gothic illusion,” 8/1/1983
Albany Union-Star: “Albany Designer places creative accent on form,” 12/69
Albany Times Union: “Animal-Like Furniture Work of Young Albany Designer,” 12/12/1969
House and Garden, “What’s New,” April 1969
Home Furnishings Daily, “Animal Forms in Furniture,” 12/3/1968