Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Burnout (White)”
Summary
Burnout (White) depicts a single squatting, cross-legged black figure with multiple arms and a wide, grinning skull-like face set against a flame-shaped black silhouette on a pale gray ground. The figure holds up a peace-sign hand in one raised arm while flicking a lighter (its small flame echoing the larger blaze behind) in the other, fusing Cleon Peterson's signature flat black/white/yellow palette with a mocking, totemic icon of complicity and corruption.
Why It Matters
The print distills Peterson's central preoccupation — the rot beneath civility — into one grinning, many-limbed idol. The crowned-by-flames, demonic seated figure reads like a corrupt deity or false prophet flashing a peace sign with one hand while igniting the fire with the other, a pointed image of hypocrisy and self-destruction ("burnout"). Its frontal, symmetrical, almost devotional composition draws on the classical and iconic vocabulary Peterson mines from Greek vase painting, religious panel painting and street-art directness, compressing his usual chaotic mob scenes into a single concentrated emblem of power's bad faith.
Collector Perspective
A 2021 hand-pulled screen print in an edition of only 16, this is among the scarcer Peterson releases — a fraction of the run size of his standard 100–150-edition prints. It is the white/light colorway variant, pencil signed and numbered by the artist in the lower margin. The tiny edition makes it a relatively hard piece to source on the secondary market, but because Peterson's most liquid demand sits with his larger street-art and Shepard Fairey-adjacent editions, a small-run image like this trades thinly: real upside on scarcity, but fewer comparable sales to anchor pricing.
Historical Context
Released in 2021, Burnout (White) belongs to Peterson's mature period, after his profile rose through collaborations with Shepard Fairey/Obey and high-profile exhibitions extending his End of Empire and power-and-violence series. By this point he had refined his reduced black-white-yellow palette and flat, sign-like figuration into instantly legible moral allegories; this small-edition print is one of the more concentrated, single-icon statements from that era rather than a multi-figure crowd scene.
FAQ
What does Burnout (White) depict?
A single squatting, cross-legged black figure with multiple arms and a wide grinning skull-like face, set inside a flame-shaped silhouette. It raises a peace-sign hand on one side while flicking a lighter on the other, reading as a corrupt idol or false prophet — an emblem of hypocrisy and self-destruction.
How large is the edition?
Just 16 — a very small run for the artist, which makes this a scarce release relative to his more common editions of 100 or more.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. Like Peterson's editioned screen prints, it is pencil signed and numbered by the artist in the lower margin.
What is the medium?
A hand-pulled screen print on paper, in Peterson's signature flat black, white/gray and yellow palette. This is the white (light-ground) colorway.
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 classical Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art, and is a frequent Shepard Fairey/Obey 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.