Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Police Shooting (Black)”
Summary
A stark black-on-cream screen print depicting a hulking uniformed officer in a peaked cap looming over a smaller, cowering crouched figure, gun drawn and pointed down at point-blank range while a handcuff dangles from the officer's wrist. Rendered in Peterson's signature flattened, silhouette-driven style, the image distills state violence and abuse of authority into a single brutal asymmetry of power.
Why It Matters
The print arrives at the height of the 2014-2015 reckoning over police killings and the Black Lives Matter movement, translating headline horror into a timeless, almost mythic confrontation. Peterson strips the scene to pure form: the towering aggressor and the crumpled victim, with no background, no nuance, no escape. The dangling handcuff is a pointed detail, the tool of lawful restraint turned into a marker of menace, underscoring that the violence comes from the institution charged with order. It is one of the artist's most direct political statements, showing how his classical compositional vocabulary, the predator-over-prey arrangement borrowed from Greek vase combat scenes, maps onto contemporary American brutality.
Collector Perspective
A small screen print edition of only 18, hand-signed and numbered in pencil by Peterson at lower right. The tiny edition size and the charged, explicitly political subject make this one of the more desirable and harder-to-find works on paper from this period; comparable small-edition Peterson prints rarely surface and sell quickly when they do. This is a black-and-white variant within a release that also exists in other colorways, which collectors should confirm before purchase. Condition and clean margins matter on a print this stark, as any handling shows against the open cream paper.
Historical Context
Created in 2015, the work sits squarely within Cleon Peterson's mature period of overtly socio-political imagery, when his recurring themes of power, violence and the collapse of civic order took on explicit reference to contemporary events. The mid-2010s saw Peterson, a Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based artist and frequent Shepard Fairey collaborator, produce some of his most confrontational editions in response to the era's protests over policing and racial violence. The reductive black-on-white palette and combat-scene composition tie the piece to his broader practice rooted in Greek vase painting and the moral caricature of Hogarth.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A large uniformed police officer in a peaked cap stands over a small, cowering figure on the ground, aiming a handgun down at it at close range. A handcuff dangles from the officer's wrist, sharpening the image's commentary on state violence and the abuse of authority.
What is the edition size?
The edition is just 18 impressions, making it a very small and scarce release.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes. Impressions are hand-signed and numbered in pencil by Cleon Peterson, typically at the lower right margin.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print on cream/white paper, produced in 2015.
Who is Cleon Peterson?
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) is a Los Angeles-based 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 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.