Iconic pop artist Peter Max’s colorful works to be on exhibit in Raleigh
Peter Max is known for bringing a major splash of color to everyday life through American Pop Art, from dorm room posters, to billboards, to celebrities like Frank Sinatra to Taylor Swift.
He’s bringing that color to Raleigh for an exhibit that looks back at highlights of his work through the decades.
The exhibit, “The Retrospective 1960-2021,” will display his trademark ‘60s style at the La Mantia Gallery in Raleigh and will feature more than 100 works from throughout the artist’s career.
It will be on display July 16 to 25 for public viewing and private appointments throughout the week. There will be four gallery receptions July 22 to 25.
“Peter is one of America’s most important living Pop artists,” said Lesley Smith, Peter Max Collection curator, in a phone interview with The News & Observer.
At 83, Max is no longer producing art due to severe dementia, according to The New York Times, and controversy has arisen surrounding reports of a lack of authenticity in his more recent works.
Max is known for helping define the style of art that came out of the 1960s. His earliest hit in 1969 was a street poster called “Love,” featuring the word illustrated in dark blues over a fuchsia, yellow, and lime-green background.
“In the ’60s when love, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll were what it was all about, Peter was creating art,” Smith said.
Max’s art is known for its vibrant palettes and diverse subject matter. He has painted six of the last seven presidents, including 44 images of Barack Obama, and has been the official artist for events like the Kentucky Derby, the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.
The exhibition in Raleigh will include pieces from his retro works, to his later Homage series.
Max’s retro works are known for their characteristic black lines, a product of his formative years, which he spent in Shanghai.
“What he learned about the United States, he learned through comic books and the radio,” said Smith. “So, the comic books had black lines, and Peter was a graphic artist, so he drew black lines.”
His Homage series is a result of his later rediscovery of the great artists of the past. In this series, he has reworked many famous works of art, such as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Monet’s “Water Lilies” in a Pop art style.
Standout pieces
Several especially striking pieces will be at the exhibition, including “Governor’s Island with Sailboat,” “Homage to Degas,” “A Love,” “1991 Grammy” and “Abstract Flowers.”
All of the pieces are available for viewing and acquisition, and they will come with certificates of authenticity from the Peter Max studio.
Max, who immigrated to the United States when he was 16, illustrates the view from Governor’s Island looking toward the Statue of Liberty in “Governor’s Island with Sailboat.” The foreground features a samurai sailboat.
“He’s very patriotic...he’s very appreciative of his citizenship and the opportunities that have been afforded him,” Smith said. “It really is a biographical work.”
In “Homage to Degas,” Max has reworked Edward Degas’ famous piece illustrating ballet dancers in various poses taken during rehearsal. Max’s rendition features bright reds and yellows, in contrast to Degas’ more subtle, muted tones, but he preserves the elegance of the original.
One of Max’s six official Grammy paintings, the “Grammy 1991,” features a brilliantly colored red gramophone covered in abstract splotches of blue, yellow and purple, all against a black starry background.
“Abstract Flowers” is an illustration of a vase of flowers, striking for its color and movement.
“The paint is always acrylic, but when he does flowers, he’ll put several colors of paint on the same paintbrush, so you’ll see great brushstrokes and great movement in the flowers,” said Smith.
Art as an heirloom
Smith encourages people to acquire works of art as family heirlooms to be passed down and shared from one generation to the next. She also said many more people are considering purchasing art after the pandemic.
“This is one of the first shows that we have done in a year and a half,” she said. “Galleries have done incredibly well, because people were home looking at their blank walls. People who normally spent money traveling, weren’t traveling, so they had faster disposable income.”
Max’s works are especially striking since each one has a unique story, she said.
“You know it’s all really from the heart,” Smith said. “To be able to share that, to pass that down from one generation to the other is very special. That’s what collecting art is about.”
Details
What: “Peter Max: The Retrospective 1960-2021 - Collected Works from the Studio of America’s Iconic Artist”
Where: La Mantia Gallery, 440 Daniels St., Raleigh
When: The exhibit is on display July 16-25. Receptions are July 22, 23: 5-7 p.m., July 24: 2-5 p.m., July 25: noon-3p.m.
Admission: Admission is free, but the gallery requests that those planning to attend a reception RSVP by calling 919-900 8453 or by emailing james@lamantiagallery.com.
Info: lamantiagallery.com