Peter Schuyff

Peter Schuyff was born in Baam, Holland in 1958. He and his family moved to Vancouver in 1967 where he spent the remainder of his childhood.  After high school, he enrolled at the Vancouver School of Art, where he studied for a year and a half. After leaving school he painted in Vancouver, where artist Michael Morris became a friend and mentor. In 1981 Schuyff moved to New York to pursue his career as an artist. Schuyff’s paintings have since evolved to depict biomorphic forms and vibrantly coloured, light filled grids and template patterns.  

While in New York, Schuyff corresponded with artist Ray Johnson, the founder of the New York Correspondance School and the father of mail art.  Schuyff’s correspondence with Johnson dates back to the late 1970s but became most intense after his move to New York. In a 1989 letter to Michael Morris, Schuyff notes “Ray Johnson and I have been corresponding a lot too, as much as three times a week.”

Schuyff is a well-known artist in his own right. He has shown his paintings in a number of solo exhibitions in New York, in addition to Los Angeles, Geneva, Cologne, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, and other cities. His work has also been shown at group exhibitions at the Drawing Centre in New York, the Milwaukee Art Gallery, and many others. His work has also been highlighted in numerous fine arts periodicals, including Artforum, Flashart, Art in America, and others. Peter Schuyff currently lives and works in New York and Vancouver.