Fairfield University Art Museum | Through 7/27 | Fairfield, CT

Room for Dessert

The Fairfield University Art Museum serves up dessert sculptures by mixed media artist Peter Anton.

“I’ve never seen an angry person in a bakery,” says Peter Anton. The mixed media sculptor uses a variety of materials—acrylic and oil paints, resins, wood, clay, metal and plastics—to create his three-dimensional desserts. They’re vibrant and utterly life-like. His madeleines look freshly dusted with powdered sugar, his box of donuts straight off the shelf, his brightly-colored macarons ready to be devoured. And yet, each of these delectable morsels are entirely fabricated by Anton’s hands. They practically beg to have a bite taken out of them, but don’t be tempted—they’re not edible, as delicious as they look.

“There are so many reasons why I enjoy creating artwork of sweets and desserts. Sweets are very pleasing to look at and bring genuine joy to people,” he says. An exhibition currently on view at the Fairfield University Art Museum in Connecticut is shining a spotlight on Anton’s over-sized, sugared sculptures. Works featured in the show include colossal boxes of donuts and chocolate candies, ice cream sandwiches with a hefty bite taken out, shockingly vibrant birthday cakes half-way devoured and much more.

“Donuts and chocolates are a part of popular culture and people’s lives,” says Anton, referencing Super Donuts and Grand Deluxe Assortment. “We all share this common experience. I learned very early in life that food brings people together. This is what I love. When I first started creating pieces like this, donuts and chocolates, they were not very colorful at all. So, I decided to make my pieces more dynamic and fanciful. I veered from reality and started adding vibrant colors.”

Anton says the first step in creating his artwork is searching for several variations of a particular dessert, which involves visiting bakeries and supermarkets, or even ordering sweets online. “I am surrounded by many samples of sweets in the studio where I study them. I break them apart, and I sometimes use magnifying glasses [to further inspect them],” he says. “Oftentimes I will bake an item or make real confections because there are clues in that process that help me think of the process and what materials to use.”

The artist’s joyful sculptures have been shown in exhibitions throughout the world, including the Allan Stone Gallery and Bruce R. Lewin Gallery in New York City; Urban Art in Seoul; Guy Pieters Gallery in Belgium; Gallery Delaive in Amsterdam; Scott Richards Contemporary Art in San Francisco; and Arcature Fine Art in Palm Beach, Florida, to name just a few.

Peter Anton: Just Desserts will be available to explore through July 27. —

Peter Anton: Just Desserts
Through July 27, 2024
Fairfield University Art Museum
200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 254-4046, www.fairfield.edu