The first major monograph on provocateur painter Peter Saul,
featuring the largest collection of his work ever published, overseen by
the artist himself.
Peter Saul is a trailblazing artist and masterful painter who is just
now receiving his due after an extraordinary six decades of painting. A
Pop Art predecessor, the artist's brightly colored paintings feature
contrarian depictions of popular culture and political history. Known
for a satirical bent that exposes the ironies of every subject he takes
up, Saul's work has been profoundly influential to the generations of
artists who have followed him.
In the 1950s and '60s, reacting against Abstract Expressionism's
seriousness, Saul began to paint everyday objects such as refrigerators,
often overflowing with food and other household items, which resulted in
his important Icebox series. He later turned to more political
subjects, such as his graphic, cartoonish "Vietnam" paintings. His
interest in politcal figures and their hypocrises continues to this day
with paintings of politicians from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.
Freely incorporating a range of pop culture references with aplomb--from
cartoon and comic book characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and
Superman, to real life figures including Ethel Rosenberg, Willem de
Kooning, Fidel Castro, and John Wayne Gacy--his work also includes
darkly humorous self-portraits.
This landmark volume includes several important contributions, including
essays by Los Angeles-based critic Bruce Hainley; Richard Shiff,
renowned art historian; and Annabelle Ténèze, Chief Curator and Director
of Les Abattoirs, in Toulouse, France. The book also features new
commentary by the artist himself on his most important works from
several periods of his career, and a 20-page booklet, also penned by the
artist, called "My Life Story."
