Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “End Of Empire, Lekythos (White)”
Summary
A screen print rendering a black Greek lekythos silhouette on white deckle-edged paper, its body carrying a single negative-white nude male figure who strides aggressively with a club hoisted over his shoulder in the manner of ancient black-figure vase painting. It belongs to Cleon Peterson's "End of Empire" body of work, where he maps his signature scenes of violence and abused power onto the forms of classical Greek pottery.
Why It Matters
The "End of Empire" series is Peterson's most pointed fusion of his contemporary vocabulary of brutality with the visual language of antiquity, using the Greek vase — an object that survives as a symbol of "civilization" — to argue that violence and the abuse of power are perennial, baked into the foundations of empire rather than aberrations from it. Reducing the composition to a lone clubbing figure on a single vessel form, this Lekythos sheet distills that thesis to its starkest, most iconic form, trading his crowded melees for one archetypal aggressor. The lekythos itself carries weight: in ancient Greece it was a vessel associated with funerary ritual and oil for the dead, which sharpens the work's undertone of mortality beneath the display of force.
Collector Perspective
A screen print in a small edition of 18, hand-signed and numbered in pencil by Cleon Peterson (signature lower right, edition number lower left). The "White" designation marks it as the light-ground variant within the End of Empire vase prints, which Peterson issued in companion colorways (the black/red versions being the more frequently seen). With only 18 impressions, this is among the scarcer Peterson editions and trades thinner than his larger-run prints; the small population and the strong, immediately legible single-figure image support demand among collectors who target his antiquity-themed work. Condition and intact deckle edges matter on a sheet this minimal, where the paper is a major part of the composition.
Historical Context
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) built his reputation on flat, high-contrast tableaux of fighting, clubbing and writhing figures that expose the brutality beneath social order, drawing equally on Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art. The End of Empire works, of which this 2018 print is part, explicitly graft his figures onto the silhouettes of classical Greek pottery — lekythoi, amphorae and related forms — to frame modern power and violence as a continuation of ancient cycles of dominance and collapse. The piece dates from a period when Peterson, also a frequent Shepard Fairey collaborator, was producing some of his most directly antiquity-referencing editions.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A black Greek lekythos (a slender ancient vessel) shown in silhouette on white paper, with a single nude male figure rendered in negative white on its body, striding forward and swinging a club over his shoulder in the style of classical black-figure vase painting.
What is the edition size?
The edition is limited to 18 impressions, making it one of the scarcer Cleon Peterson prints.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. It is hand-signed by Cleon Peterson in pencil at the lower right and numbered in pencil at the lower left.
What is the medium and which series is it from?
It is a screen print on deckle-edged paper, made in 2018 as part of Peterson's End of Empire series, which sets his figures onto classical Greek vase forms. The 'White' refers to this light-ground variant.
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 in a flat black/white/red/gold palette. 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.