A native of New York City, Peter Halley receive his B.F.A. degree from Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1976. After college he spent several years in New Orleans completing a M.F.A. degree at the University of New Orleans in 1978. He returned to New York in 1980.
Halley's paintings made reference to the urban landscape. The central square--bright red in Fire in the Sky is called a cell. Roll-a-Tex is the material that makes up the cell. The cell carries psychological overtones in regard to the isolation and alienation of the individual within the urban environment. Coming out of the cell are conduits, which are about connectivity.
Science fiction has been a recurring theme in Halley's work, and the title of this painting is taken from a science fiction movie. Halley frequently uses movie titles as the title of his paintings. Fire in the Sky is a line from the Deep Purple song Smoke on Water.
Source: News, July August 1993.
Published ReferencesAN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. p.131, color ill. p.130
DES MOINES ART CENTER COLLECTS, Des Moines Art Center, 2013, ref. p. 120, color ill. p. 121
