Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Evil”
Summary
A stark black-and-white screen print in which a hulking, grinning figure overpowers a smaller victim, bending the body backward while brandishing a blade in its raised fist. "Evil" distills Cleon Peterson's central subject — the brutal exercise of power and the predatory violence beneath civilization — into a single hand-to-hand confrontation rendered in his signature flat, high-contrast graphic style.
Why It Matters
Evil" is a concentrated example of the imagery that made Peterson's name: faceless, muscular aggressors and crumpling victims locked in scenes of domination and slaughter. The composition's debt to ancient Greek vase painting — silhouetted bodies, frieze-like flatness, anatomical contour lines — collides with the immediacy of street-poster graphics, letting Peterson stage a timeless allegory about cruelty and the abuse of power. Stripped of his usual blood-red accents and reduced to pure black on white, this print reads as one of his most graphically severe and legible statements, the title naming the theme that runs through nearly all of his work.
Collector Perspective
An early Peterson screen print from 2014, the period when his market was beginning to build momentum. The edition is tiny — only 11 examples — which puts it well below his more common 100-to-200-count releases and into genuinely scarce territory for collectors who track his prints. Hand-signed and dated in pencil at the lower right and numbered at the lower left. The reductive black-and-white palette and small format make it an accessible entry point compared to his larger multi-color editions, while the very low edition size gives it real desirability for completists. Condition and clean margins matter at this size.
Historical Context
Produced in 2014, "Evil" comes from the stretch when Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) was consolidating the visual language — flat black, white and red figures locked in violence — that would define his rise through the 2010s and his many collaborations with Shepard Fairey. The work sits alongside the body of small-run screen prints he issued through this era, drawing openly on classical Greek figuration, Hogarth's moral scenes and street-art directness to indict the violence and power-worship he sees as endemic to society.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A large, grinning aggressor overpowering a smaller victim, bending the body backward while raising a blade in its fist — a hand-to-hand scene of domination and imminent killing rendered in flat black and white.
How large is the edition?
The edition is 11, making it a genuinely scarce Peterson print compared to his more common runs of 100 or more.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. It is hand-signed and dated in pencil at the lower right and numbered at the lower left.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen) on paper, produced in 2014.
Who is Cleon Peterson?
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) is an American artist known for stark, high-contrast scenes of violence and power drawn from Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art, and for his frequent collaborations with 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.