Erik Peterson is the featured artist for December at the Bainbridge Public Library.

His exhibit, titled “Illuminations from the Enteric Nervous System/Shadow Puppetry from My Intestinal Wall,” will open at the library with an artist’s reception on the First Friday Art Walk, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6.

Paintings in the exhibit were made between the years of 2008 and 2012 as Peterson was living and working in Seattle.

Two large canvases dominate the exhibit; both are in oil paints and depict narrative scenes of unnerving, layered, and ambiguous beauty. Strong composition and structure ground the viewer, while fluid painterly marks and color relations create a highly dynamic surface. Imagery of architecture and young girls are present in both.

“Forgive Me” utilizes the composition found in the Van Eyck bothers’ painting from the 15th century referred to as “Adoration of the Lamb.”

“Responsibility and Restraint” is a vertically oriented canvas whirling with color, high contrasts, and evidence of a circus carousel.

Smaller paintings from the same time period will also be on display.