Max Van Pelt

Max Van Pelt grew up in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from Dartmouth College in 2011, where his work in sculpture and drawing was awarded the Jonathan B. Rintels Prize for the outstanding undergraduate thesis in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Prior to discovering his artistic intentions, Max was an archer - a thirteen-time national champion and athlete on the United States World Team. He derives additional passion from exploring his surroundings as an experienced whitewater kayaker, oarsman, and avid mountain bicyclist. After his first chapter in the Upper Valley, Max maintained a decade-long studio practice in Providence RI while also working as a welding instructor, fabricator, and art preparator. His work has been featured in Big Red & Shiny, on NPR, and by Art in America’s “The Lookout.” He now lives and works across the river in Thetford, Vermont and has been building a house with his hands. 

Max makes dynamic paintings, intricate sculptures, and site specific installations that navigate the geometries of architectural, environmental, and emotional space. The works are places where divergent attitudes, appearances, and forces have a tendency to converge and resolve within the necessities of their cohabitation. The participation of a viewer allows these visual expressions to move from ambiguous to something specific and personal - the production richest in its potential not just to represent ideas, but to evoke them with frequency: regularly, and in appropriate tones. 

\- Artist type: Painter / Sculptor (If we had to pick one, you could just say painter.)