...Peter Kaltreider has his own approach to the postmodern merging of figurative and abstract aesthetics, as seen in the painting called "Tongue: Cephalization." This intriguing title, which alludes to the tendency in the development of certain animals to localization of important organs or parts in or near the head is given a bizarre meaning by the image of a face with its tongue stuck out grotesquely, surrounded by a rich array of floral forms, graceful designs, and geometric forms. Although its meaning is somewhat obscure, Kaltreider's composition conveys an intriguingly surreal mood and the combination of repellent and seductive imagery creates a compelling imagistic tension.

Body parts and abstract forms are also combined in other paintings by Kaltreider, such as "Premonition: Joie de Vivre Contra Deophagi," where a male torso dominates the top of the composition, looming above abstract color areas and geometric divisions. Here, as in other imaginatively titled paintings by Kaltreider such as "Peach Harvest and Windswept Daffodil," the juxtaposition of disperate images, patterns, and color combinations has qualities in common with other works by postmodern panters like David Salle. In "Trance Gestalt," however, Peter Kaltreider reveals a more mystical side that makes one think of certain artists such as Odilon Redon and suggests levels of depth that elude many of his contemporaries...

-Martin Leiberman