Peter Poulet
Peter Poulet, The Trembling, acrylic on polyester, 90 x 95 cm
$4800
Peter Poulet
16 May - 6 June
Exhibition Opening
Exhibition Opening to be launched by:
Lisa Havilah
CEO of the Museum of Applied Arts & Science (MAAS)
Saturday 16 May 2026
2:00 - 4:00 pm
About the Artist
Artist and architect Peter Poulet was born 2 May 1960 in Sydney, NSW, to Russian immigrant parents Eugene and Natalie Poulet. His interest in painting and drawing since childhood led Poulet to study architecture at the University of Sydney between 1979 and 1984, where he gained a Bachelor of Science (Architecture) and a Bachelor of Architecture.
It was during these years that Poulet became interested in sustainability, ultimately leading to his serving on the NSW Royal Australian Institute of Architects Chapter Council’s Sustainability and Education Committees. Remarkably, Poulet’s final thesis at university was a work of paintings, later recommended by senior lecturer of architecture, Marr Grounds, to Frank Watters. In 1986, Watters Gallery in East Sydney hosted Poulet’s first exhibition of works that explored themes of the urban/built environment and its imposition on the natural world.
Peter Poulet’s time in Japan working for Toyo Ito encouraged him to engage in architecture as an art form. Poulet became the 23rd NSW Government Architect in 2012. He has been honoured as Artist in Residence at Bundanon in 1999 and at the New England Regional Art Museum in 2002. He has pieces in the collections of the major law firms Allen Arthur Robinson and Naker and McKenzie, the University of New South Wales, Artbank, The Manly Hydraulics Laboratory, and the Bundanon Trust.
Poulet’s abstract painting uses colour, fluidity of line, and the juxtaposition of forms to create new environments. His work is influenced by nature and natural phenomena – light, air, the feeling of space, enclosure, and human interaction with nature – giving his art an organic sentiment. His body of work has evolved to explore more complex relationships between objects and forms as he brings more elements from the outside world into his pieces. Introduced elements reflect his ideas about the world and include thoughts that were present in his earliest works, thus maintaining continuity of influence and motivation – nature and the expression of his feelings and emotions. This awareness of nature is also crucial to his architecture and his interest in sustainability.
Artist Statement
‘“I make abstract paintings to understand a chaotic world. I find meaning in the nonfigurative as a way to make sense of the absurd.
I rely on chance by starting with an uncontrolled event, often a subconscious gesture.
Beginning with the splashing of paint, or a calligraphic sweep I continue to react and pick a way through to find and mark events or signs and some meaning amongst what could be otherwise be chaos.
The tension between the uncontrolled and the intentional marks invites the viewer to find their own meanings, interpretations and possibilities.”
— Peter Poulet 2026
ARTWORK
