Meet Peter Breza: An Artist and Inspiration

Last Sunday, while driving home from the Little Tokyo New Year Celebration, I drove past a man displaying his art along Sunset Blvd in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. His old Volkswagen Van was the only vehicle parked along this particularly long and sparse stretch of the Blvd but I was intrigued enough to turn around and check out what his makeshift gallery was all about.

I'm glad I did.

Meet Peter Breza:

Peters work is stunning. His eye for collage and whimsical style coalesce into some beautiful creations but what I appreciate most about Peter is that he is completely capitalizing on what limitations he may have and is making gold. While his work is worthy of being displayed in MOCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art) he defiantly props up a piece that reads, "Not Moca Art." In his picture above, you'll notice that he is holding a sign that reads, VANGO. "How appropriate," I thought. One of the worlds most sought after artists, Vincent Van Gogh, was famous for being quite a troubled soul and the parallels that Peter draws between himself and Van Gogh are clear but don't need to be spoken. There is a lot of love and joy that Peter puts into his work. In talking with him I could tell that he was truly grateful to have that old van on the side of the road, selling his art.  Everything just worked so well together. In fact, while I want Peter to realize the praise and success that his work deserves, a part of me would be disappointed to see him standing in a suit in a pretentious, stark-white gallery.

For Peter, I am grateful. He has inspired me greatly.

If you would like to contact Peter about any of his work, please contact him at petehbreza@gmail.com

UPDATE: This email address for Peter is no longer valid, but if you would like to still support him in any way, please contact me, Dane, at gratefulbrand@gmail.com. I will ensure that all requests and well wishes get to him.