About John Petrey

John Petrey’s sculptural world is one where nostalgia, cultural critique, and inventive craftsmanship meet in unexpected harmony. Best known for his sculpted dress forms—meticulous, boldly imaginative constructions built from materials such as patinated copper, bottle caps, license plates, vintage signage, rulers, and other reclaimed fragments—Petrey invites viewers to reconsider objects they thought they knew. The familiar silhouettes evoke mid-century ideals, but the materials tell a deeper, more complex story.

Born in Southern California in 1958, Petrey grew up in the glow of televised perfection: polished families, tidy resolutions, and the crisp shirtwaist dresses of an era that promised simplicity. Those images embedded themselves early, eventually resurfacing not as sentimental homage but as a lens through which he examines American culture—its myths, contradictions, and the emotional terrain beneath its glossy surface.

Before turning to sculpture full-time, Petrey built a decorated career in commercial photography and graphic design, sharpening his eye for composition, texture, and visual rhythm. In 2003, he left the commercial world behind to pursue sculpture with full focus. What followed was the emergence of a distinctly recognizable voice—one that blends technical mastery with a playful, sometimes biting sense of humor.

His dresses, though uninhabited, hum with personality. Some charm with their lightness; others bristle with a kind of metallic armor, suggesting both vulnerability and defiance. Petrey often speaks of his fascination with material discovery—the thrill of finding an industrial scrap or vintage object that sparks a new narrative. Each sculpture begins with that spark, then grows through a process of reimagining: Will the material flow like fabric? Will it harden into defense? What era, memory, or imagined character might it conjure?

The resulting works feel both theatrical and intimate. They carry the echo of childhood memory, the grit of American industry, and the timeless allure of fashion as both expression and disguise. Petrey’s sculptures have been exhibited widely across the United States and have found homes in private and corporate collections, admired for their wit, craftsmanship, and emotional resonance.

From small, playful forms to monumental statement pieces, Petrey continues to expand his vocabulary of materials and themes. What remains constant is his belief in imagination as an essential human force—an engine of transformation capable of turning the ordinary into something extraordinary.