Artist of the day: Artist of the day, July 9: Peter Max, American artist

Monday, July 9, 2018

Artist of the day, July 9: Peter Max, American artist

Peter Max (Peter Max Finkelstein), (1937) is an American artist known for using bright colors in his work. He and his family fled the Nazis in 1938 and moved to Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next 10 years. Max was incredibly artistic from the moment he was born, enamored by color and constantly searching for ways to draw on everything (to the detriment of his mother). For Max, color was paired with sound—an intense synesthesia. The ripple of crayons on a steamer trunk was the first memorable experience for the artist where he truly realized his love for sound and color. Today, there are few works by Max created in silence. Works by Max are associated with the visual arts and culture of the 1960s, particularly psychedelic art and pop art.

Max works in multiple media including painting, drawing, etchings (including aquatint), collage, print making, sculpture, video and digital imagery. He also includes "mass media" as being another "canvas" for his creative expression.

Max often uses American icons and symbols in his artwork. He has created paintings of presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush in addition to his 100 Clintons—a multiple portrait installation. Additional commissions have included the creation of the first "Preserve the Environment" postage stamp, in honor of the World's Fair in Spokane, WA, border murals at the entry points Canada and Mexico by the US General Services, and exhibitions in over 40 museums and 50 galleries worldwide.

His artwork was featured on CBS's The Early Show where his "44 Obamas," commemorating Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was debuted.

Max is an environmentalist, vegan and supporter of human and animal rights.
In 2002, Max contributed to rescue efforts for Cincinnati Freedom, a cow that escaped from an Ohio slaughterhouse. The cow jumped over a six-foot fence while the slaughterhouse workers were on break and eluded capture for eleven days. Max donated $180,000 worth of his art to benefit the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, part of a chain of events which finally led to the cow being sent to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, a permanant home where the cow remained for the rest of its life.

© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Peter Max. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained.