Peter Wexler Studio
Peter wexler photo








Peter Wexler has been working for seven decades in performance art, as a designer of scenery, costumes, lighting, concerts, performance space, and outdoor concert facilities, as well as a producer and as a studio artist. His credits include designs for Broadway (The Happy Time, Camino Real, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine); off-Broadway (War and Peace, Anthony and Cleopatra, Brecht on Brecht); The Metropolitan Opera, 1951-1954 and 1970-2004 (Les Troyens, Le Pophete, Un Ballo in Maschera); The New York Philharmonic, 1965-2004 (The Rug Concerts, The Promenades Concerts); The Boston Symphony, 1995-1999 (The Pops); The Los Angeles Symphony (Hollywood Bowl); and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

He helped found regional theatres (the Mark Taper Forum, 1965-2004 and the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, 1975-1980) and consulted on TV design (The Merv Griffin Show, The ABC World News with Peter Jennings). He has produced large outdoor music festivals featuring artists such as the Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson, Van Cliburn and Mstislav Rostropovich. He has also produced large exhibitions (The Smithsonian Institution, The Tramell Crow Co.) and has consulted on the design of theatres and concert performance spaces including the Carlos Moseley Music Pavilion in Central Park, NY, which he conceived and produced.

His art is to be found in many public and private collections (The Smithsonian Institution, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center and The Tobin Collection at the McNay Art Museum).

The Duke Library at Furman University in Greenville, SC is currently digitizing all of his projects for online archival educational availability as THE PETER WEXLER DIGITAL MUSEUM AT FURMAN UNIVERSITY.

SCULPTURE FOR A SOUTHERN CITY STEEL BIRDS – 2010
SCULPTURE FOR A SOUTHERN CITY – 2012
STEEL BIRDS – 2010
FUOCO FROM "REFLECTIONS / RIFLESSIONI" – 2006
book and exhibition - abstract photos of Venice.
EMAIL: peterwexler@mindspring.com
EXAMPLES OF CURRENT PROJECTS
FUOCO FROM REFLECTIONS PHOTOS OF VENICE
Theatre Work – 2011
exhibition - Schoenherr Gallery, North Central College, Naperville, IL.
Exhibition catalog – 2011
BIG APPLE CIRCUS TENT GRAPHIC – 2005
BIG APPLE CIRCUS TENT GRAPHIC – 2005
AND FROM THE BEGINNING...
In 1958 Mr. Wexler received a Bachelor's degree of science in design (photography and painting) from the University of Michigan's School of Architecture and Design. He also attended the Graduate School of Drama at Yale.
He then designed for off Broadway and television.
In 1958 Mr. Wexler designed "Anthony and Cleopatra", starring the young George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst, for Joseph Papp at the newly formed New York Shakespeare Festival.

He was an early colleague of Gordon Davidson's and a founding member with him, of the Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Mr. Wexler was later a founding member of the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, performing executive and design functions for it as well as for the Center Theatre Group.
Starting in 1965 with his work for the "Promenades" and then the "Rug Concerts" at the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Wexler's design and organizational expertise led to producing, programming and/or theatre and public space design assignments for the Denver Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In the 60s and 70s, Mr. Wexler's design work was well represented in regional theatre, on Broadway, television and at the Metropolitan Opera House. He worked, as theatre and concert designer, with Frank Gehry on the re-design of the Hollywood Bowl (1974 - 1977).
He has been principal in extraordinarily complex projects such as the design of scenery, lighting, costumes, visual effects and the direction of the film for the Metropolitan Opera’s 1973, largest, ever, production "Les Troyens" and also for extremely simple ones such as the design of the East Room performance platform for Mrs. John F. Kennedy at the White House in 1961.

Mr. Wexler has produced, programmed, directed, designed and/or raised funds for museum exhibitions, concerts, public spaces and media events for the U.S. Department of the Navy, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Smithsonian Institution, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as the Trammell Crow Company, AIRCOA, the Oxford Development Company, E.D.S. (D.S.O. Outdoor Concerts - Ross Perot) and the Taubman Company (Al Taubman) in the private sector.

Mr. Wexler produced the gala fund-raising concert "Salute to Slava" for the National Symphony Orchestra at the J. F. Kennedy Center, which was televised nationally by WETA. He also provided an environment for the "Boston Pops," starting in 1995.

Late in the 1990s, Mr. Wexler led a lighting, rigging, interior restoration and systems update for the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Hall. He also consulted with ABC TV NEWS on visual environments for its programs - “Good Morning America”, “20/20”, and “World News Tonight.”
Mr. Wexler was the founder, producer and artistic director of the Spring Creek Festival in Garland, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) from 1992-1994. The festival presented artists ranging from the Dixie Chicks to Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra. The Spring Creek Festival is one of the many large outdoor music festivals for which Mr. Wexler has provided production or design and technical expertise.
Perhaps Mr. Wexler’s most unique contribution was in the leadership of design and planning for the Carlos Moseley Music Pavilion (1990-2004). This portable outdoor performance facility was created for the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. Crowds of up to 85,000 people were regularly able to see and hear performances of classical music and opera in it, in New York City’s parks. This high tech facility was capable of being completely erected – ready for sound check in 2 hours with a crew of 11 stage hands and 5 teamsters. It had a portable wireless, 24 speaker tower, distributed sound system and a tension membrane skin, which was used for colorful projections.

Mr. Wexler has taught or guest lectured at the University of Michigan, the State University of New York at Binghamton, the University of Arizona at Tucson, Harvard College, Wellesley College and Furman University.


Mr. Wexler's sketches, paintings, models and photographs are widely held in public and private collections, among them the Harvard Theatre Collection and the Cooper Hewitt Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. His graphics have been exhibited at the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the Max Reinhardt Archive, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Metropolitan Opera Board Room, Avery Fisher Hall, B. Altman's, Fortunoff, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Chase Manhattan Bank, the Cooper-Hewitt, and the Chicago Cultural Center. He has had 18 one-man shows.


His work is extensively collected by the Theatre Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center (Billy Rose and Jerome Robbins Collections), the Theatre Department of the State University of New York (Binghamton), the Department of Theatre Arts and University Library Special Collections at the University of Arizona (Tucson), the Robert Tobin Collection at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, and the the Digital Collection of the Duke Library at Furman University.


His book, “Reflections / Riflessioni,” may be found in many museums and photographic collections including the library of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.


Additional biographical information about Mr. Wexler may be found in Who's Who (in America-2014, in American Art-2014), Blue Book and Men of Achievement etc.


Mr. Wexler was married to EMMY AWARD winning costume designer Constance Ross for 53 years.

Peter Wexler - BENJAMIN BRITTON'S CHURCH TRILOGY – ST. STEPHENS CHURCH, NEW YORK MODEL 1973
BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S "CHURCH TRILOGY" – ST. STEPHENS CHURCH,
NEW YORK. MODEL 1973
Peter Wexler - WAR AND PEACE – PHOENIX THEATRE, NEW YORK – MODEL 1964
WAR AND PEACE – A. P. A. PHOENIX THEATRE,
NEW YORK. MODEL 1964
Peter Wexler -Candide - theatre group, Los Angeles - model 1966
CANDIDE – THEATRE GROUP,  LOS ANGELES
MODEL 1966 
Peter Wexler - Pittsburgh Public Theatre 1973 - conception and design of theatre space
PITTSBURGH
PUBLIC
THEATRE

1973

CONCEPTION
AND
DESIGN OF
THEATRE SPACE
Peter Wexler - The rug concerts New York Philharmonic spatila conception model 1973
THE RUG CONCERTSSPATIAL CONCEPTION
MODEL 1973
Peter Wexler - NY Philharmonic Rug concerts in performance 2004
THE RUG CONCERTS
IN
PERFORMANCE

1974
Peter Wexler - Les Troyens - Metropolitan Opera - New York - 1973 - model
LES TROYENSMETROPOLITAN OPERA NEW YORK1973
PRODUCTION
SHIP MODEL
Peter Wexler - Les Troyens - Metropolitan Opera - New York - 1973 - performance photo Peter Wexler - sketch of White House stage from the NY Times front page 1961
MR. WEXLER'S SKETCH FROM THE FRONT PAGE OF THE N.Y. TIMES
THE WHITE HOUSE STAGE – 1961
Peter Wexler -  Smithsonian Institution - The Search For Life Exhibit 1987 Model
SEARCH FOR LIFE
SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON D.C.
1987
Peter Wexler -  Smithsonian Institution - The Search For Life Exhibit 1987 Photo of DNA theatre
MODEL
EXHIBIT
Peter Wexler - Star Spangled Baner Exhibit - National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution , Washington DC 1982
STAR SPANGLED BANNER
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON D.C
EXHIBIT
STARTING IN 1982
Peter Wexler - American Anthem Trammel Crow Company, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, 1985
AMERICAN ANTHEM
TRAMMELL CROW
COMPANY
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION – 1985
Peter Wexler - Design Exterior graphics and interior, The Taubman Company - corporate Aircraft
THE TAUBMAN COMPANY – CORPORATE AIRCRAFT – one of three –
EXTERIOR GRAPHICS AND INTERIOR DESIGN – 1982
Peter Wexler -  Symphony Hall Interior restoration and systems update, Boston - 1999
SYMPHONY HALL
INTERIOR RESTORATION AND SYSTEMS UPDATE
BOSTON – 1999
Peter Wexler - Midland Center for the arts, Concert environment design and hall restoration 2002
MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS
CONCERT ENVIRONMENT DESIGN AND HALL RESTORATION – 2002
Peter Wexler - Detroit Symphony Orchestra - project - concert shell and lighting model 2002
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – PROJECT
CONCERT SHELL AND LIGHTING – MODEL 2002
Peter Wexler - ABC News - Peter Jennings World Sculpture 1998
WORLD SCULPTURE – 1998
Peter Wexler - The Denver Symphony Rocky Mountain Music Festival 1983 Model
THE DENVER
SYMPHONY
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
MUSIC
FESTIVAL
1983
MODEL
PERFORMANCE
Peter Wexler - The Denver Symphony Rocky Mountain Music Festival 1983 Performance Peter Wexler - The Carlos Moseley Music Pavilion - The Metropolitan Opera Association and the New York Philharmonic - Project leadership in design and planning - Model 1990
Model – F.T.L. LTD. Architects
THE CARLOS MOSELEY MUSIC PAVILION
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA ASSOCIATION AND
THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
PROJECT LEADERSHIP IN DESIGN AND PLANNING – MODEL 1990
Peter Wexler - Chandelier 16' High - Un Ballo in Maschera - Metropolitan Opera sketch - 1980
CHANDELIER – 16' 0" HIGH
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA
METROPOLITAN OPERA
SKETCH – 1980
END
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EMAIL: peterwexler@mindspring.com
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Peter Wexler - 277 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10023 - (212) 877-9494 - peterwexler@mindspring.com
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