When you stand before one of Peter Roux’s paintings, you might first notice the clouds. Dramatic, otherworldly skies spill across the canvas, shifting between representation and abstraction. But linger for a moment, and the work begins to reveal something deeper—memory, place, and the complex ways we see and experience the natural world.
Originally from Boston, Peter moved to the Asheville area in 2017 and joined the River Arts District two years later. For him, the mountains and skies of Western North Carolina became both subject and muse. “We can experience pretty dramatic cloud theater here,” he says. “There’s an otherworldly, epic quality to it. I’m also drawn to the dense greens of our forests—both keep finding their way into my work.”
That work took a sudden and devastating turn in September 2024, when Hurricane Helene flooded the River Arts District, destroying almost 80% of its studios. Peter lost his entire space, and more than 50 works of art, in a single day. “I’d been a professional artist for over 20 years and had never experienced anything like it,” he recalls. “I had to start over completely.”
Starting over, however, has a way of reshaping an artist’s vision. While Peter doesn’t directly paint the hurricane, the experience deepened his exploration of nature’s power and unpredictability. “We are a part of nature, yet it can also transform us—or even eliminate us,” he reflects. “That relationship is complicated, and I’m sure it’s informing my work in ways I’m still discovering.”
The piece currently on display at AVL, "moment by moment," was the first large-scale work Peter completed after the storm. A diptych of two panels joined edge-to-edge, the right side bursts with abstraction that bleeds into the left, uniting them into a single statement. Like much of his work, it sits in the space between illusion and reality, depth and flatness—a “push-pull” that invites the viewer to reconsider the familiar.
In the wake of Helene, Peter has leaned heavily on community. His advice for other artists facing a similar loss? “Look to others and rely on your community, be a strong part of it, as best you can. That will be a source of strength.”
Peter finds strength and inspiration in many places: the films of visionary directors, the music that fills his studio, the work of artists like Gerhard Richter. Travel also sparks new perspectives—he and his family recently returned from Boston and are considering a trip to Paris for a major museum show later this year. “Any place can inspire me,” he says. “I tend to find a spark wherever I go.”
You can view Roux's piece "moment by moment" in the exhibit "Mountain Memories" at Asheville Regional Airport, on display through October 30, 2025. The exhibit is displayed in the Asheville Regional Airport Art Gallery located in the new North Concourse, post security – please note only ticketed passengers can view this area.
