Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Sirens (Red)”
Summary
Sirens (Red) renders three nude female figures in Cleon Peterson's signature flat, high-contrast style — silhouetted blood-red against a black field with a hot red border — caught mid-gesture in a writhing, clawing tangle above a prone body collapsed on the ground. Drawing directly on Greek vase painting, it belongs to Peterson's ongoing mythological vein, where ancient figures like the Sirens become vehicles for his enduring subjects of seduction, predation, and the violence beneath the surface of human relations.
Why It Matters
The Sirens are the perfect Peterson subject: mythic figures whose beauty lures men to destruction, fusing seduction and death into a single image. By stripping the scene to two colors and a vase-painting flatness, Peterson collapses the distance between ancient Greek pottery and contemporary street art, making the brutality feel both timeless and immediate. The composition — three predatory figures looming over a fallen victim — distills the artist's career-long argument that civilization's violence and exploitation are ancient, recurring, and unresolved. The single-color red treatment heightens the menace, reading at once as flesh, fire, and blood.
Collector Perspective
This is a screen print from 2021 in an edition of just 32 — a genuinely small run for Peterson, who often releases prints in editions of 75 to 150 or more. That low number places it firmly in the scarce tier and makes it more sought-after than his standard releases. As is standard for his prints, it would be hand-signed and numbered by the artist. The red colorway is one of multiple variants of the Sirens image; collectors should note which colorway and confirm signature and numbering when buying. Peterson's market is active and liquid, with strong demand for mythological and figure-based works, and small editions like this tend to hold value better than his larger runs.
Historical Context
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) built his reputation in the 2010s on stark black-white-red scenes of power and brutality that channel ancient Greek vase painting, Hogarth's moral satires, and street-art directness. Around 2019–2021 he produced a body of explicitly mythological works — including End of Empire vases and Siren imagery — that pull his contemporary politics of violence back into classical antiquity. Sirens (Red), made in 2021, sits squarely in this period, using the seductive-but-deadly Sirens of Greek myth to restate his core theme of exploitation and predation.
FAQ
What does Sirens (Red) depict?
Three nude female figures rendered in flat red silhouette against black, clawing and gesturing in a writhing tangle above a collapsed body on the ground — Peterson's take on the Sirens of Greek myth, whose beauty lures victims to their destruction.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 32, a small run for Cleon Peterson and notably scarcer than his typical print editions.
Is the print signed and numbered?
Peterson's editioned prints are hand-signed and numbered by the artist; buyers should confirm the signature and number on the specific impression.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen), produced in 2021. The red colorway is one of multiple variants of the Sirens image.
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 that draw on Greek vase painting, Hogarth, and street art. He is a frequent collaborator of Shepard Fairey.
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.