How did the experience affect you as an individual?
The RSA John Kinross Scholarship provided me with a supported transition to life after Art School and an immediate opportunity to develop my practice further. The financial support and access to Florence’s world leading art collections was a rare opportunity and I was determined to take full advantage of it. My time in Florence also marked the first time I had spent an extended period of time abroad and largely by myself too. It was therefore also a significant moment in my own personal development.
What was the impact on your practice?
My time in Florence had an immediate impact on my work. I had already been using a form for making that is familiar to the work the city is famous for, however, experiencing the architecture and art of the city in person, allowed me to reassess my interests and gain a fuller understanding of the potential that this way of making holds. I witnessed understated simplicity contrasted with the ornate; the visual ‘rules’ and obsession with symmetry that were strictly adhered to and these all played a role in expanding my knowledge and the points of reference in my work. I would draw intensively every day – without exception – interrupted only by a visit to a museum or gallery and I established a process that was a real development and felt like a step forward in my work.
Peter Chalmers, Untitled. RSA Collection.
