Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Scales Of Injustice (First Edition)”
Summary
A stark black-and-white letterpress in which Cleon Peterson hijacks the heraldic vocabulary of state power: a spread-winged eagle-seal crowns the sheet, flanked by the words POWER and GLORY, with a balance scale at its center weighing a dollar sign against a skull. Below, mirrored ranks of Peterson's signature flat black figures square off — towering aggressors looming over clusters of cowering, huddled bodies. It is a collaboration with Shepard Fairey (both signatures appear), turning patriotic iconography into an indictment of greed, coercion and the violence underwriting authority.
Why It Matters
Scales Of Injustice distills Peterson's central thesis — that civilization's order is built on brutality and the abuse of power — into a single propaganda-style emblem. By fusing his brutal figurative scenes with the eagle-and-banner format of national seals and the dollar-versus-skull scale, he and Fairey produce a piece of anti-propaganda: the imagery of legitimacy weaponized to expose money and death as the true currency of rule. The letterpress medium, with its embossed, hand-pressed authority, reinforces the parody of official documents and currency. As a documented Peterson/Fairey collaboration from 2016, it sits at the intersection of two of street art's most politically charged voices.
Collector Perspective
This is a first edition letterpress in an exceptionally small run of just 10, hand-signed by both Cleon Peterson and Shepard Fairey (dated '16) at the lower margin. The tiny edition size and dual signatures place it well above Peterson's standard screen-print releases in desirability — collaboration pieces with Fairey carry cross-collector demand, and at an edition of 10 supply is essentially nonexistent on the secondary market. Letterpress on deckled paper is a less common format for Peterson than his screen prints, adding a tactile, object quality. Realistically priced as a scarce collaboration rather than an everyday print; condition of the margins, deckle and embossing matters given the format.
Historical Context
Made in 2016, a year of intense U.S. political tension, the print fits Peterson's mid-decade body of work attacking the structures of power and the complicity of money in violence. The eagle-seal and "POWER / GLORY" banner format directly riffs on national and corporate heraldry, a register Shepard Fairey has long mined; the two artists were frequent collaborators in this period. The dollar-and-skull scale ties it to the broader protest-art current of 2016, framing the work as commentary on inequality and the machinery of authority rather than a neutral emblem.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A heraldic eagle-seal crowned by the words POWER and GLORY, with a central balance scale weighing a dollar sign against a skull. Beneath it, mirrored rows of Peterson's flat black figures show large aggressors looming over clusters of cowering, huddled people — a parody of state iconography exposing money, coercion and violence behind authority.
How large is the edition?
The first edition is just 10 — an extremely small run.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. It carries two hand signatures in the lower margin — Cleon Peterson and Shepard Fairey (dated '16) — making it a documented collaboration, and it is numbered as part of the edition.
What is the medium?
Letterpress, printed in black on cream deckled-edge paper, which gives the sheet an embossed, official-document quality that reinforces the work's parody of seals and currency.
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, drawing on Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art. He is a frequent Shepard Fairey collaborator, and this print is one of those joint works.
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.