PETER J. ILLIG Artist Resume
EDUCATION
Master of Humanities, University of Colorado, Denver.
Bachelor of Science, Art Education, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Paradoxical Terrain, solo show, Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2023 Evocation, Walker Fine Art, Denver, Colorado
2021 Matter of Time, Walker Fine Art
2019 Layers of Existence, Walker Fine Art
2017 Metaphors, Walker Fine Art
2016 Figuratively Speaking, Walker Fine Art
2015 Peter Illig, New Works, Walker Fine Art
2014 Analogue of Desire, Denver Syntax, Denver
RETRO/Activ, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver
2010 Redux: The Logic of Dreams, Hinterland Gallery, Denver
2008 Full Fathom Five, Plus+Gallery, Denver
Cast Shadows, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2007 Porn Star Passion Play, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
Mysteries of Babylon, Spark Gallery, Denver
2006 Popular Mechanics, Pirate - Contemporary Art
DIALOG: 21, Spark Gallery, Denver
2005 The Logic of Dreams, Pirate - Contemporary Art
First Person Future Tense, two-artist show, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2004 Life on Earth, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2002 Proximity, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2001 The End of History, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2000 The Secret Life of Men, Pirate - Contemporary Art
1997 American Inverse, two-artist show, Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, Colorado
Man Woman Image Text, CORE New Art Space, Denver
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Art of the State, state-wide juried show, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada, Colorado.
Inaugural Exhibition, Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2023 I Do / We Do / You Do, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
2022 Dreaming My Dreams, Redline, Denver
2021 The State of Contemporary Drawing, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 Pink Progression, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Biennial All State Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado
2019 Spark Co-op Gallery Show, Denver
2018 Pirate Alumni Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2016 Drawing Never Dies, Redline, Denver
Art of the State, state-wide juried show, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada
2015 Conscious and Unconscious, The Real and Surreal, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada
2014 A Baker’s Dozen, juried show, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver
2013 Faculty and Friends Exhibition, Colorado Gallery of the Arts, Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, Colorado
2012 Pirate Juried Show, juried by Adam Lerner, at Pirate - Contemporary Art.
Icebreaker Exhibition, juried by Gwen Chanzit, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver
2011 Displaced, experimental show, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver
14 Collaborations, Art Students League, Denver
Confluence, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Denver
2010 Excellencies, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2009 Everybody Loves a Train Wreck, Art Students League invitational, Denver.
Colorado Open Exhibition, juried by Christoph Heinrich and Michael Chavez, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado
2008 Denver Modernism Show, featured artist
2007 Surprise, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2006 BOOM Denver, mobile art exhibit, Denver
Best of Colorado, Denver International Airport, Denver
2005 Figure Painting Invitational, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Denver
CAEA Art Exhibition, Philip J. Steele Gallery, Denver (Best in Show award)
2004 Group Show 2 Biennial, Studio Aiello, Denver
Pirate members’ Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2003 Gallery Sovereign Show, Boulder, Colorado
Cooperative Gallery Retrospective, Art Students League, Denver
Studio Aiello Inaugural Juried Show, Studio Aiello, Denver
Rocky Mountain Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Art, Greenwood Village, Colorado,
(Jurors Award)
The Man Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver
Side by Side, Fresh Art Gallery, Denver
2001 The Figure in American Art 1950-2000, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
Melange, Pirate Artists Show, Viridian Gallery, New York, NY
The Dream Mill, Lakewood Cultural Arts Center, Lakewood, Colorado
Opening Exhibition, Sandra Phillips Fine Arts, Basalt, Colorado
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado
2000 Real to Surreal, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
Colorado 2000, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado
20th Anniversary Members Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
1999 Chairs! Chairs! Chairs! Exhibition, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
The Timeless Body, online exhibition at PaintingsDirect.com, New York, NY
CORE Supporting Members Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver
Colorado Open Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado
Woman: Face/Place, Women’s Art Center and Gallery, Denver
National Juried Show, ILK Co-op Gallery, Denver
Metropolitan State College Art Faculty Exhibitions, Center for Visual Arts
and Emmanuel Gallery, Denver
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado
1998 Persona: Public and Personal, Republic Plaza, Denver.
PUBLICATIONS
Michael Paglia, Westword:
Michael Warren and Walker Galleries Take Different Paths to Solid Shows, December 2019.
Neon Affairs, Emoticons and Lyrical Abstraction, May 2017.
The Enduring Appeal of the Figure, On Display at Walker, May 2016.
Get Real, With Artists Who Focus on Realism, February 2015.
Artbeat, June 2005.
DIALOGUE: 21, December, 2005,
Reviews: Life on Earth, July 2004, Spark show, May 2007.
Sex in the City, August 2002.
Artbeat, August 2000, Sit on It, June 1999.
Artistic Democracy, September 1998.
Susan Froyd, Westword, 100 Colorado Creatives 3.0: Peter Illig. April 2017.
Kimberly Graham, Colorado Modern magazine: Peter Illig, Portraitist of Society’s Soul, February 2004.
Mary Chandler, Rocky Mountain News:
Critics Choice (reviews), July 2005, July 2004, August 2002, August 2001, August 2000.
Sonya Ellingboe, Littleton Independent: Peter Illig, Artist Juggling Many Canvases, August 1997.
Jeff Bradley, Denver Post: Variety in Media (review), August 1999.
J. Gluckstern, Boulder Camera: Real to Surreal examines fringes of the Possible, (review), January 2000.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Art Instructor:
Heritage High School, Littleton, Colorado (1981-2001).
Rangeview High School, Aurora, Colorado, Dept. Chair (2002-2006).
Adjunct Art Professor, Drawing, Metropolitan State College, Denver (1999-2000).
Painting instructor, Rocky Mountain College of Art+Design, Denver (2009-2010).
Commission, Aurora Art in Public Places, Aurora Fire Department Painting
(April 2010, Deana Miller, director).
Exhibitions Assistant, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (2011-2013).
Art Reviewer, (2009-present).
AFFILIATIONS
Denver Art Museum, member.
Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, member.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, member. Guest speaker May 2013
Pirate - Contemporary Art, member, curator 1999-2008
Colorado Art Education Association, 1992-1997, 2003-2006 (Board Representative).
Spark Gallery cooperative, Denver 2004-2007 and 2024 to present
Plus+Gallery, Denver 2005-2012
CORE New Art Space, Supporting member 1997-1999
Walker Fine Art, Denver 2014 - 2025
Artist’s website: peterilligartist.com
COLLECTIONS
Christoph Heinrich, Director, Denver Art Museum
George L. Blosser
Gregory Piche
Michael Mowry
Sue Cannon
Peter Blank
Dana Cain
Ken Hamel
Howard Tullman, Chicago
Delta Dental Group
Riva Sweetrocket
Warren and Martha Paul
Stephen Pastore, Florida
Ryan Shankar, NYC
Joe Higgins, NYC
Josh Bresette, New Hampshire
Jim Franzen
David Rulli
Sharon Bankert
Thomas Mulroy, Jr.
Matt Held, Seattle
Christine Bourron, NYC
Teresa Novak and Lance LaCerte
Gary Erickson
Nikki Kurland, PA
Bill Holm, Vail CO
Karen Brown
Trent Brady, Florida
T. J. Ward
Cari Cunningham
Susan Rubin
Sven Lachhein, Germany
Richard Schwent
Ryan Rice
EDUCATION
Master of Humanities, University of Colorado, Denver.
Bachelor of Science, Art Education, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Paradoxical Terrain, solo show, Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2023 Evocation, Walker Fine Art, Denver, Colorado
2021 Matter of Time, Walker Fine Art
2019 Layers of Existence, Walker Fine Art
2017 Metaphors, Walker Fine Art
2016 Figuratively Speaking, Walker Fine Art
2015 Peter Illig, New Works, Walker Fine Art
2014 Analogue of Desire, Denver Syntax, Denver
RETRO/Activ, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver
2010 Redux: The Logic of Dreams, Hinterland Gallery, Denver
2008 Full Fathom Five, Plus+Gallery, Denver
Cast Shadows, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2007 Porn Star Passion Play, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
Mysteries of Babylon, Spark Gallery, Denver
2006 Popular Mechanics, Pirate - Contemporary Art
DIALOG: 21, Spark Gallery, Denver
2005 The Logic of Dreams, Pirate - Contemporary Art
First Person Future Tense, two-artist show, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2004 Life on Earth, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2002 Proximity, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2001 The End of History, Pirate - Contemporary Art
2000 The Secret Life of Men, Pirate - Contemporary Art
1997 American Inverse, two-artist show, Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, Colorado
Man Woman Image Text, CORE New Art Space, Denver
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Art of the State, state-wide juried show, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada, Colorado.
Inaugural Exhibition, Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2023 I Do / We Do / You Do, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
2022 Dreaming My Dreams, Redline, Denver
2021 The State of Contemporary Drawing, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 Pink Progression, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Biennial All State Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado
2019 Spark Co-op Gallery Show, Denver
2018 Pirate Alumni Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2016 Drawing Never Dies, Redline, Denver
Art of the State, state-wide juried show, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada
2015 Conscious and Unconscious, The Real and Surreal, Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities, Arvada
2014 A Baker’s Dozen, juried show, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver
2013 Faculty and Friends Exhibition, Colorado Gallery of the Arts, Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, Colorado
2012 Pirate Juried Show, juried by Adam Lerner, at Pirate - Contemporary Art.
Icebreaker Exhibition, juried by Gwen Chanzit, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver
2011 Displaced, experimental show, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver
14 Collaborations, Art Students League, Denver
Confluence, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Denver
2010 Excellencies, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2009 Everybody Loves a Train Wreck, Art Students League invitational, Denver.
Colorado Open Exhibition, juried by Christoph Heinrich and Michael Chavez, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado
2008 Denver Modernism Show, featured artist
2007 Surprise, Plus+Gallery, Denver
2006 BOOM Denver, mobile art exhibit, Denver
Best of Colorado, Denver International Airport, Denver
2005 Figure Painting Invitational, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Denver
CAEA Art Exhibition, Philip J. Steele Gallery, Denver (Best in Show award)
2004 Group Show 2 Biennial, Studio Aiello, Denver
Pirate members’ Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
2003 Gallery Sovereign Show, Boulder, Colorado
Cooperative Gallery Retrospective, Art Students League, Denver
Studio Aiello Inaugural Juried Show, Studio Aiello, Denver
Rocky Mountain Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Art, Greenwood Village, Colorado,
(Jurors Award)
The Man Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver
Side by Side, Fresh Art Gallery, Denver
2001 The Figure in American Art 1950-2000, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
Melange, Pirate Artists Show, Viridian Gallery, New York, NY
The Dream Mill, Lakewood Cultural Arts Center, Lakewood, Colorado
Opening Exhibition, Sandra Phillips Fine Arts, Basalt, Colorado
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado
2000 Real to Surreal, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
Colorado 2000, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado
20th Anniversary Members Show, Pirate - Contemporary Art, Denver
1999 Chairs! Chairs! Chairs! Exhibition, Center for Visual Arts, Denver
The Timeless Body, online exhibition at PaintingsDirect.com, New York, NY
CORE Supporting Members Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver
Colorado Open Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado
Woman: Face/Place, Women’s Art Center and Gallery, Denver
National Juried Show, ILK Co-op Gallery, Denver
Metropolitan State College Art Faculty Exhibitions, Center for Visual Arts
and Emmanuel Gallery, Denver
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, Colorado
1998 Persona: Public and Personal, Republic Plaza, Denver.
PUBLICATIONS
Michael Paglia, Westword:
Michael Warren and Walker Galleries Take Different Paths to Solid Shows, December 2019.
Neon Affairs, Emoticons and Lyrical Abstraction, May 2017.
The Enduring Appeal of the Figure, On Display at Walker, May 2016.
Get Real, With Artists Who Focus on Realism, February 2015.
Artbeat, June 2005.
DIALOGUE: 21, December, 2005,
Reviews: Life on Earth, July 2004, Spark show, May 2007.
Sex in the City, August 2002.
Artbeat, August 2000, Sit on It, June 1999.
Artistic Democracy, September 1998.
Susan Froyd, Westword, 100 Colorado Creatives 3.0: Peter Illig. April 2017.
Kimberly Graham, Colorado Modern magazine: Peter Illig, Portraitist of Society’s Soul, February 2004.
Mary Chandler, Rocky Mountain News:
Critics Choice (reviews), July 2005, July 2004, August 2002, August 2001, August 2000.
Sonya Ellingboe, Littleton Independent: Peter Illig, Artist Juggling Many Canvases, August 1997.
Jeff Bradley, Denver Post: Variety in Media (review), August 1999.
J. Gluckstern, Boulder Camera: Real to Surreal examines fringes of the Possible, (review), January 2000.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Art Instructor:
Heritage High School, Littleton, Colorado (1981-2001).
Rangeview High School, Aurora, Colorado, Dept. Chair (2002-2006).
Adjunct Art Professor, Drawing, Metropolitan State College, Denver (1999-2000).
Painting instructor, Rocky Mountain College of Art+Design, Denver (2009-2010).
Commission, Aurora Art in Public Places, Aurora Fire Department Painting
(April 2010, Deana Miller, director).
Exhibitions Assistant, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (2011-2013).
Art Reviewer, (2009-present).
AFFILIATIONS
Denver Art Museum, member.
Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, member.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, member. Guest speaker May 2013
Pirate - Contemporary Art, member, curator 1999-2008
Colorado Art Education Association, 1992-1997, 2003-2006 (Board Representative).
Spark Gallery cooperative, Denver 2004-2007 and 2024 to present
Plus+Gallery, Denver 2005-2012
CORE New Art Space, Supporting member 1997-1999
Walker Fine Art, Denver 2014 - 2025
Artist’s website: peterilligartist.com
COLLECTIONS
Christoph Heinrich, Director, Denver Art Museum
George L. Blosser
Gregory Piche
Michael Mowry
Sue Cannon
Peter Blank
Dana Cain
Ken Hamel
Howard Tullman, Chicago
Delta Dental Group
Riva Sweetrocket
Warren and Martha Paul
Stephen Pastore, Florida
Ryan Shankar, NYC
Joe Higgins, NYC
Josh Bresette, New Hampshire
Jim Franzen
David Rulli
Sharon Bankert
Thomas Mulroy, Jr.
Matt Held, Seattle
Christine Bourron, NYC
Teresa Novak and Lance LaCerte
Gary Erickson
Nikki Kurland, PA
Bill Holm, Vail CO
Karen Brown
Trent Brady, Florida
T. J. Ward
Cari Cunningham
Susan Rubin
Sven Lachhein, Germany
Richard Schwent
Ryan Rice