Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Pattern Of Corruption (Blue / White Set)”
Summary
A two-panel screen-print set rendering Cleon Peterson's signature violence as an all-over decorative pattern: dozens of muscular figures grappling, swinging clubs and trampling one another are woven among stylized rosettes and vine scrolls, presented as a "color-reversal" pair (dark-blue figures on white, then white figures on dark blue). The work turns Peterson's brutal street-conflict imagery into a wallpaper-like ornament, exposing how aggression and domination become normalized, repeating background texture of social life.
Why It Matters
Pattern Of Corruption" is one of Peterson's most conceptually pointed prints because of its format. By taking the same vocabulary of beating, clubbing and brawling bodies he uses in his large narrative paintings and locking it into a seamless toile-like repeat among decorative flowers, he forces the viewer to confront violence as decoration, brutality dressed up as a pretty, civilized surface. The deliberate two-state pairing (positive and negative color fields) underscores the theme: corruption is not an aberration but a reversible, ever-present pattern, the same on either ground. It connects directly to Peterson's broader project of dissecting power and the abuse of it, and to his debt to classical Greek vase ornament and figure painting.
Collector Perspective
Released in 2015 as a screen print in a small edition of 24, and offered here as a matched two-print set (the blue-on-white and white-on-blue color variants). The tight edition size and the set format make this one of the harder Peterson editions to acquire as an intact pair, examples are typically hand-signed and numbered in the standard Peterson manner. It sits in the desirable middle of his market: more ambitious and scarcer than his open or larger-run single prints, with strong wall presence as a diptych. Condition and keeping the set together are the key value drivers; split sets and any trimming or handling to the wide white borders meaningfully affect desirability.
Historical Context
Made in 2015, during the period when Peterson's reputation was rising sharply on the back of his "End of Empire" body of work and his collaborations with Shepard Fairey. The mid-2010s saw him repeatedly mining classical Greek vase painting and ornamental traditions, the rosettes, scrolling vines and flattened figure style, to attack contemporary power, mob behavior and corruption. "Pattern Of Corruption" belongs to that moment, applying an antique decorative logic, the all-over repeat of vase and textile ornament, to thoroughly modern scenes of social violence.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
An all-over repeating pattern of muscular figures fighting, clubbing and trampling one another, interlaced with stylized flower rosettes and scrolling vines. It is presented as a two-panel set with the color scheme reversed, dark-blue figures on a white ground in one sheet and white figures on a dark-blue ground in the other.
What is the edition size?
The edition is 24.
Is it signed and numbered?
Peterson editions of this type are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist. Confirm the exact signature and numbering on the specific examples offered.
What is the medium and format?
It is a screen print from 2015, offered as a matched two-print set (a blue/white color-reversal pair).
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 and gold palette. He draws on classical Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art, and 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.