With the leaves falling from the trees of the Arab Spring in Egypt, it is tempting to think of Cleon Peterson‘s latest collection as topical, but sadly, There is a War would be topical at any given moment in history. Delivered with a quote from Orwell’s timeless 1984, “If you want to see the future imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever”, this is the Californian artist’s commentary of the brutality of man against man, state against the people, and people against themselves.
The works, acrylic and spray paint on wooden panels, depict the basest human instincts carried out under the veil of civilisation, the dirty deeds committed by figures preserving their modesty with underwear. There is no gratuitousness from Peterson; although the hacking and bludgeoning is undoubtedly graphic, and pack an extra punch through the use of stark two-tone colour palettes, his tableaux are never gory or sensationalist. Soho gallery The Outsiders is the theatre for this war, which will rage until 3rd August.
Glory and His Shadow
Acrylic on Wood Panel
90 cm x 90 cm
(framed in black 92 cm x 92 cm x 5 cm)
Fear
Acrilyc and Spray Paint on Nine Wood Panels
183 cm x 183 cm
In Nature is Dominance
Acrylic on Twelve Wood Panels
72 cm x 96 cm
The Practice of Masters
Acrylic on Wood Panel
51 cm x 36 cm
(framed in black 53 cm x 39 cm x 5 cm)
