Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “No Place (Utopia)”
Summary
A stark black, white, and gold screen print depicting a solid-black city skyline consumed by a massive eruption of flame and smoke, with a single lone gunman standing armed at the right edge of the burning metropolis. The image renders the collapse of civilization and the violence beneath order that runs through Cleon Peterson's broader body of work.
Why It Matters
No Place (Utopia) distills Peterson's central preoccupation — the brutality and abuse of power lurking beneath civilization — into a single apocalyptic vignette. The ironic title frames the burning city and the lone armed figure as the endpoint of human ordering: utopia as "no place," a promised ideal collapsing into ruin. Stripped of the writhing crowds and clashing mobs of his larger compositions, it concentrates his themes of authority, destruction and mortality into one silhouetted scene, with gold lending the catastrophe a gilded, almost monumental gravity.
Collector Perspective
A tight edition of 24, hand-signed and numbered in pencil by the artist (signature lower right, edition number lower left). The very small run places it among Peterson's scarcer print releases — well below the 100-plus editions he is better known for — which supports stronger relative scarcity, though the smaller market for these niche editions means liquidity is moderate rather than deep. The reduced gold-on-black palette and single-image composition make it a clean, graphic entry point for collectors focused on Peterson's apocalyptic and power-themed work.
Historical Context
Released in 2024, No Place (Utopia) sits within Cleon Peterson's mature output, where the Seattle-born artist (b. 1973) continued to mine themes of power, conflict and societal collapse using his signature flat, high-contrast graphic language drawn from Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art. The burning-city motif and ironic "utopia" framing extend the dystopian, end-of-empire current that has run through his work and frequent Shepard Fairey collaborations.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A solid-black city skyline engulfed by a massive eruption of flame and smoke rendered in black and gold, with a single armed lone figure standing at the right edge of the burning city — an apocalyptic image of civilization collapsing.
What is the edition size?
The edition is limited to 24.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. It is hand-signed in pencil by Cleon Peterson at the lower right and numbered at the lower left.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print in a black, white, and gold palette on white paper.
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 flat black, white, red and gold. 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.