Love Is The Key
Internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Peter Triantos means business.
By Eve Thomas
From his massive studio, globally renowned artist Peter Triantos creates bold and bright lauded series like Jelly Bean, Napa Valley, Splash of Colour and Abstract Expressionism. “Whether [artists] are painting a bowl of fruit or a diamond or a beautiful person, they want to captivate the audience,” he says.
The eccentric and down-to-earth abstract artist is just as comfortable talking nuts and bolts as he is waxing poetic about Rembrandt. Perhaps it’s no surprise, since he came to his illustrious career—which now boasts high demand by numerous globally renowned art collectors—via what he calls “the scenic route,” immigrating to Canada from Greece with his parents and brother as a six-year-old boy on a 15-day boat ride. As a teen considering a career in the fine arts, Triantos says: “I didn’t want to burden my hard-working parents.” But he knew he had talent, and that he’d revisit it. “Did I know it would take this long? No,” he recalls with a laugh.
Being an avid art collector himself, Triantos took the leap from carpenter to fine art dealer in his 30s, then to being a full-time artist in his 40s. To their credit, he says his kind and generous parents were always supportive of his dreams. “They believed in me; that meant a lot,” he says.
Not long after his first solo show, he rose to stardom with sold-out exhibitions around the world, from Miami and New York to Auckland and Seoul, and more than 50 magazine and television features (plus his work appeared in Suits). His collaborations and clients include many A-listers, among them Karl Lagerfeld, Drake, Jeff Hamilton, Nicole Scherzinger and Tate McRae (who filmed a music video at his downtown gallery and ended up acquiring one of his electric Storm paintings).
Triantos is careful to note, however, that none of this is pure luck. “I’m 64 and I work seven days a week, nonstop, but I enjoy it,” he says. “Going to my studio is like going to my playground.” He finds inspiring young minds to be an especially rewarding part of what he does, and he often welcomes students to his studio and teaches lessons during his travels, as he recently did at the prestigious secondary School of Research and Science in Dubai. “It’s very important to educate young minds of the importance of the arts,” he says.
Most recently, Triantos turned a Bentley Bentayga into a sensational and whimsical mobile work of art at Canvas in Motion, celebrating Canada Day at CIBC Pier on the lakeside of the Friday Harbour Resort. He had less than an hour to paint the entire luxurious vehicle, without any blueprints. “I’m like a race horse, it’s nerve-wracking before the race, but once the race starts, it’s all action and the stress dissipates,” he says, laughing. But in the end, he surprised the spectators with his signature style of creative and unique abstract figures, cheered on by the crowd of fans, friends and family. “It was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
Triantos also unveiled several pieces at the 2025 Living Luxe Design Show as part of the OE Design Gallery by Omid Taba, including a dreamy Equinox diptych artwork that appears three-dimensional and a magical Winter Paradise series piece with free-flowing rhythmical movement.
Beyond making art, Triantos also builds the crates that ship his pieces worldwide and installs 99 per cent of his work across the GTA, Muskoka, Ottawa and Montreal, as well as Napa Valley, Miami, the Hamptons and Saratoga Springs. He laughs, recounting how far he’ll go to make sure each installation is perfect. “When someone acquires your work to add to their collection, they’re making you happy—why not make them happy?”