Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Riot”
Summary
An early Cleon Peterson screen print rendered in his signature flat palette of hot pink, black, white and deep crimson, depicting a chaotic brawl: a baton-wielding figure in a peaked cap grapples with a suited man while nude and partially clothed bodies twist, strike and fall around them. It is a formative example of the mob-violence scenes that would define Peterson's mature work on the abuse of power and the brutality beneath social order.
Why It Matters
Dated 2007, Riot predates the black-white-red vocabulary Peterson became known for and shows him working through an electric pink register, making it a useful marker of his early development. The composition already contains his core obsessions: an authority figure (the capped, baton-carrying enforcer) wading into a writhing tangle of bodies, the powerful set against the vulnerable, and crowd violence staged as a flattened, almost friezelike scrum that echoes the classical battle scenes he would later cite. For collectors tracing how his imagery and palette evolved, early pieces like this carry outsized interest.
Collector Perspective
A screen print from a small edition of 50, typically hand-signed and numbered in pencil by the artist (the lower margin here shows a pencil edition number and signature). As an early-period Peterson in an atypical pink-dominant palette and a tight edition, it sits in the scarcer end of his print output and appeals to collectors focused on provenance and the artist's formative years rather than his widely circulated later releases. Condition and clean margins matter on works of this age; verify the pencil signature and numbering.
Historical Context
Made in 2007, early in Cleon Peterson's printmaking career and well before his higher-profile collaborations and museum-scale output of the 2010s. The work shows the foundations of his style — flat graphic figures, high-contrast color, and scenes of fighting and social collapse drawn from sources ranging from Greek vase painting to Hogarth and street art — at a stage when his palette still leaned heavily on vivid pink rather than the stark red-and-black he later standardized.
FAQ
What does Riot depict?
A violent street brawl: a baton-wielding figure in a peaked cap grabs at a suited man while nude and partially dressed figures fight, fall and writhe in a tangled crowd, rendered flat in pink, black, white and crimson.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 50.
Is it signed and numbered?
Works in this edition are typically hand-signed and numbered in pencil by the artist in the lower margin; confirm the pencil signature and edition number on the individual impression.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen) from 2007.
Who is Cleon Peterson?
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) is an American artist known for stark, high-contrast scenes of violence, power and social conflict. He draws on Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art and is a frequent Shepard Fairey collaborator.
Related Works
About the Artist
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) is an American artist known for stark, high-contrast scenes of violence, power and social conflict, rendered in a flat, limited palette of black, white, red and gold. His chaotic compositions of fighting, clubbing and writhing figures expose the abuse of power and the brutality beneath civilization’s surface, drawing on classical Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art. A frequent collaborator with Shepard Fairey, he shows internationally; his prints, sculptures and editions are widely collected in the urban-contemporary market.
Collecting Cleon Peterson at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic Cleon Peterson prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of Cleon Peterson prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new Cleon Peterson prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across Cleon Peterson and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.