Peter Saul "Fifty Years of Painting"

Haunch of Venison

poster for Peter Saul "Fifty Years of Painting"

This event has ended.

Twenty important paintings from the span of the artist's career are on exhibit alongside a selection of new works made especially for the exhibition. Early sketchbooks and a collection of the artist's correspondences and personal artifacts are also on view.

The exhibition features significant works from each decade of Saul's celebrated career. Highlights include: "Typical Saigon" (1968), Saul's response to the atrocities of the Vietnam War; "Oedipus Junior" (1983), a shocking self-portrait in which the artist simultaneously pierces his eye with a paintbrush and castrates himself; "Columbus Discovers America" (1992-1995), which rejects the fable of Christopher Columbus by depicting the horrors of America's discovery and "Refrigerator Break Down" (2010), a new and updated work in response to his renowned series of Icebox paintings from the 1960s.

Described by New York Times art critic Holland Cotter as "a classic artist's artist and one of our few important practicing history painters." Saul is best known for his paintings depicting exaggerated, provocative images of pop culture ranging from well-known art references to political icons. Saul distorts his figures in order to draw attention to and critique contemporary culture. His paintings are politically charged and sardonically respond to past and current historical events. While working in the early 1960s, Saul's inclusion of bright colors and everyday subjects positioned him as a predecessor of the Pop Art movement.

[Image: Peter Saul "Sickroom" (1964) oil on canvas 50.5 x 59 in.]

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Schedule

from November 05, 2010 to January 08, 2011

Artist(s)

Peter Saul

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