“America. England. Zimbabwe. South Africa. You’ll find Peter Gray’s arresting paintings in many corners of the world, whether in private homes, galleries or corporate collections. Internationally acclaimed for sure, yet his roots are indelibly African.
In his lifetime, Peter Gray has migrated across the world frequently. Challenging moves, yes, but he has no regrets. Each time, the shift enriched his life in a meaningful way. As he puts it, “Where ever we as a family find ourselves such has added to our understanding of life, and what’s important and what’s not.”
Peter was born in an old farmhouse in the little town of Bulawayo, in Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe, on the doorstep of the Matobo Hills National Park, Hwange National Park and Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls.) He loved his childhood, a rural life largely off the grid, with a big well at the bottom of the garden, and wildlife which ate their vegetables: “My upbringing had a great impact on my art. My dad was a talented Master copper plate engraver and specialist seal engraver in stone and precious metals, who’d designed and worked on
leaded windows in UK cathedrals, and later became an RAF Pilot. My mother was an avid sportswoman and traveller, talented at art, a magnificent story-teller with a beautiful singing voice and musician.” Clearly an all-round artistic family, his brother equally so. As a child, Peter spent a great deal of time watching his father at work: “He taught both myself and my brother to engrave. His philosophy was always, ‘if you learn a skill which few others have, wherever you go in the world, you’ll be able to earn a living.’ “