P eter McDonald is a British Japanese painter who is inspired by the everyday, imbuing his paintings with references to modern life and the people and experiences that he encounters. Fusing abstract and narrative elements in a manner that recalls aspects of the works of Philip Guston, Joan Miró and Gary Hume, McDonald’s works typically include his stylised figures with large, bubble-like heads. Through these brightly coloured, often overlapping bubbles the artist hints at the inner world of his figures and represents the communication between his characters. His universal subject matter is instantly comprehensible to viewers, be it people in a boardroom, listening to music on the bus, shopping in a bakery or athletes playing table tennis at the Olympics. Intending his work to be enjoyable and relatable, McDonald has established a playful visual language that is defined by vivid colour and flattened, distorted perspectives.

Born in Tokyo in 1973, Peter McDonald now lives and works in London and Tokyo. In 2008, the artist was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize for his work, Fontana, which depicts the famous Argentine-Italian painter Lucio Fontana slashing one of his canvases, portrayed with McDonald’s signature semi-translucent globular head. In 2009, London Underground commissioned the artist to create a large-scale installation for Southwark station, and in 2017, he was awarded a prestigious fellowship at the British School in Rome. Significantly, McDonald has been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Winnebago, Carpets, Onsen, Potter at Daiwa Foundation, London in 2013; Mushrooms of Language at Kate MacGarry, London in 2017; and recently, Sampo at Gallery Side 2/void + gallery, Tokyo in 2021.

英裔日本畫家彼得・麥當勞的創作靈感源自日常生活，因此其作品通常反映他在生活中遇到的人與事。他的創作手法融合了抽象與敘事的元素，令人聯想起菲利普・加斯頓（Philip Guston）、胡安・米羅（Joan Miró）及格里‧休姆（Gary Hume）等畫家，而大頭氣球人就是其標誌。麥當勞透過畫中色彩繽紛而重疊的氣球，影射這些人物的內心世界，以及他們之間的交流。他以會議室內的人群、在公共汽車上聽音樂、在麵包店內購物及奧運的乒乓球比賽等生活百態為主題，令人一目了然。麥當勞以斑斕生動的色彩、平面而扭曲的視角，建構出一套玩味十足的視覺語彙，作品充滿娛樂性，更易引起觀眾的共鳴。

彼得・麥當勞1973年出生於東京，現於倫敦及東京兩地生活及工作。2008年，麥當勞的作品《封塔納》勇奪約翰・莫爾繪畫獎（John Moores Painting Prize）。在該畫中，阿根廷/意大利藝術家盧齊歐・封塔納化身為半透明氣球頭人，並正在以刀劃破畫布。2009年，倫敦地鐵委託彼得・麥當勞在南華克站創作一件大型裝置藝術；2017年，他獲羅馬的英國學校（British School）頒授獎學金。麥當勞曾參與多個群展，亦舉辦過多場個展，包括2013年倫敦大和基金會舉辦的「Winnebago, Carpets, Onsen, Potter」、2017年倫敦凱特．麥蓋瑞畫廊（Kate MacGarry）舉行的「Mushrooms of Language」，以及東京Gallery Side 2及Void+畫廊於2021年合辦的「散步」（Sampo）展覽。