Is it allowed to take the dog with to heaven when I die? Painting

Art-journalist Danica Novgorodoff, New York: Wickedly humorous and absolutely original, Per William Petersen's waggish portraits depict buxom damsels and plump-featured fellows whose physiques and faces seem to be composed of sleek synthetics or bright inflatables. With a sculptural sensibility and a distinctive Pop Art sheen, Petersens' characters are both delightful and obtuse, doing what they do with a blithe unconcern for who may be watching or how they may appear. Impish and colorful, Petersen's works are lighthearted narratives and unexpected portraits that reveal his interest in the strangeness of everyday life as shaped by interconnected coincidences. "To paint is to tell stories," he says. "I paint because I am curious to see all those stories that are hidden behind the surface. I am removing the surface, turning the stone." Born in Denmark, Petersen worked as a silversmith, and later as a graphic designer, before turning his artistic attentions more fully to painting and design.