Peter Max Artist Biography PDF

© Peter Max 2023 PETER MAX 1937– Above: Detail of “Umbrella Man” by Peter Max (2002). 72” x 60”. Acrylic painting on canvas.  © Peter Max 2023...

© Peter Max 2023 PETER MAX 1937– Above: Detail of “Umbrella Man” by Peter Max (2002). 72” x 60”. Acrylic painting on canvas.  © Peter Max 2023 © Peter Max 2023 © Peter Max 2023 “God Bless America - With Five Liberties” by “Angel with Heart” by Peter Max “Blushing Beauty” by Peter Max (2002). Peter Max (2001). 24" x 18". Mixed media with (2010). 27 1⁄2" x 13 7⁄8". Serigraph in 27 3⁄4” x 22”. Mixed media with acrylic painting and acrylic painting and color lithography on paper. color on wove paper. color lithography on paper Peter Max has evolved from a visionary Pop artist of the That same year Max and his family moved to Haifa, Israel. 1960s to a master of Neo-Expressionism. His vibrant and Max became fluent in Hebrew and began delving more colorful works have become a lasting part of contemporary seriously into his art. His parents tried to structure his American culture and is synonymous with the spirit of the creativity by enrolling him in art lessons with a Viennese ‘60s and ‘70s. Expressionist after school. Professor Hünik enlightened During his long career, the artist has painted six U.S. Max, changing the way he thought about color. He became presidents was the official artist for the 2006 Winter the professor’s protégé for the next two years and began Olympics U.S. team, and has created art for Woodstock, defining himself as a colorist—an artist skilled in using and the 1994 Soccer World Cup and Super Bowls. manipulating color. When he needed more assistance with his drafting, he turned to comic books, following their Personal History foreshortened lines and vivid style. Max was born in Germany in 1937. He and his family fled Max’s fascination with cosmology expanded when he the Nazis in 1938 and moved to Shanghai, China, where began reading the encyclopedia, beginning with the they lived for the next 10 years. Max was incredibly artistic letter ‘A.’ He got no further than astronomy. He was so from the moment he was born, enamored by color and enamored by the subject that he began to take evening constantly searching for ways to draw on everything (to classes at Technion, a scientific university in Haifa. Later the detriment of his mother). For Max, color was paired in life, this quest for cosmic knowledge would become with sound—an intense synesthesia. The ripple of crayons spiritual as much as scientific. on a steamer trunk was the first memorable experience Before immigrating to the United States, the Max family for the artist where he truly realized his love for sound and traveled to Paris for six months in 1953 where Max spent color. Today, there are few works by Max created in silence. time studying at the Louvre. At the Louvre, Max became Early in his life, Max fell in love with three things: comic intrigued by the photorealistic works of 19th-century books, movies, and jazz—all uniquely American. In China, artist Adolphe-William Bouguereau, inspiring him to Max’s lessons were taught in English, so when he saw his take up the style. first American movie at the cinema and picked up his first His family eventually settled in Brooklyn, where Max comic book, he was thrilled to understand them. graduated high school and studied under the realist Frank In 1948, Max and his family traveled through Tibet, which J. Reilly at the Art Students League in 1956. He learned had a profound effect on Max’s artistic development drafting and anatomy from Reilly, finely honing the and spiritual growth. A German scientist and astronomer photorealism he admired of Bouguereau. Max spent nearly staying in the same hotel as Max’s family also had a lasting all his time at the Art Students League, taking every class impact on Max, introducing him to cosmology. possible for the next five years. Max discovered, however, that photorealism limited his imagination. He created his perished that day. Each painting was presented to the last realistic painting in 1959. surviving families of the firefighters during a ceremony at In 1962, fresh out of school, Max established a graphic Madison Square Garden. design studio with friends. They found almost overnight Alongside his patriotism, Max is a passionate success in the design industry. Around this time Max began environmentalist and defender of human and animal experimenting with a more abstract and colorful style. He rights, using his talents to support these causes. expressed this new, psychedelic style through posters, advertising, and graphic works. The look he achieved was Style and Influences sought-after by companies across the country. Agencies, Max’s signature style is characterized by uplifting magazines, and national publications sought out Max’s cosmic and patriotic themes carefully painted with style for a wide variety of projects and commissions. brilliant hues and loose brushstrokes. Max adapted The story behind his poster for the Central Park “Be In” his techniques from graphic works to painting, with on Easter of 1967 was adapted for the Academy Award- his palette becoming softer and more diverse and his winning director Milos Forman’s film, “Hair.” Max found strokes broader and more textured. himself at the center of a cultural revolution, magnified The influence of comic books, with their foreshortening by his unique graphic style. As an iconic artist and designer, of lines, bold colors, and heavy black outlines, stayed his posters could be found on the walls of college dorm with Max throughout his career. This formed the rooms around the country. foundation of Max’s style alongside his love for In 1966, while working on a film in Paris, Max met Swami color, spirituality, and music. Satchidananda, who introduced him to yoga and a deeper While studying at the Louvre, Max found inspiration in understanding of Eastern spirituality. Inspired, Max invited the nearly photo-realistic paintings of Adolphe-William the swami to stay with him in the United States, helping Bouguereau, motivating Max to focus on draftsmanship. him establish the Integral Yoga Institute, spreading the Despite mastering photorealism, Max felt stifled by the teachings of yoga throughout America. With more than 70 style and pursued a different direction which embraced branches throughout the United States today, plus 21 other abstraction, broad color fields, and other styles in vogue nations, Max helped introduce yoga to a greater portion of during the 1960s. In doing so, Max allowed his creative the world, enlightening young and creative minds. spirit to blossom. This was his initial step toward Neo- For most of the 1970s, Max shut down his graphic Fauvism and Neo-Expressionism. workshop. He took himself off the radar for almost 18 Throughout the ‘60s, Max developed his signature cosmic years to spend time with his family and concentrate on style. He blended his fascinations with Eastern philosophy, his new passion—painting. He enjoyed the freedom that astronomy, studies in color, and music with vivid bursts of came from working with canvases and brushes instead of color to create a truly unique style. printing presses. Max’s artistic talents span multiple mediums, including Park West Gallery has enjoyed a relationship with Max painting, drawing, etching, lithography, serigraphy, collage, since the 1970s and is the artist’s largest and longest- and sculpture. running dealer in the world. Although Max retreated from the spotlight during this time, he continued to evolve his Recurring Themes artistic style, and was the subject of the exhibition “The While in Tibet, Max was struck by the image of monks in World of Peter Max” at the de Young Museum in 1970. meditation. They carried their walking sticks and chanted Max re-opened his studio in Manhattan, creating a by the waterfall at sunset—an image that Max wouldn’t 40,000-square-foot space for administration, painting, forget and now includes in his art as sages. production, and gallery tours. From that point on, Max As his artwork evolved, Max developed other imagery like has stayed in the public eye, using his art to express his the Dega Man, Zero Megalopolis, and The Umbrella Man. creativity while raising awareness on environmental and Other iconic imagery appearing throughout Max’s oeuvre humanitarian issues. includes his profiles of women, such as Blushing Beauty. Showing of patriotism and a love for his adopted These portraits are inspired by the women in his life. country, Max created six poster images in response to American icons, especially the Statue of Liberty, appear the September 11th attacks. Proceeds from the series over and over in his works. By the time he returned to were donated to the September 11 and Twin Towers the public art scene in the ‘80s, Max’s American imagery Relief Funds. In October 2002, Max created 356 portrait became dramatic, expressing his appreciation of America’s paintings of the firefighters and first responders who freedoms and creative spirit. Accomplishments In 1993, Max created a painting for the White House to commemorate the historic signing of the Israeli-Palestine Max has been featured in more than 40 museums and peace accords. 50 galleries worldwide. M  ax designed the stage for the 1999 Woodstock Festival, Max was featured on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny celebrating the music festival’s 30-year anniversary. Carson in 1968 and on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1969. In 2000, Max was commissioned to paint a Continental Airlines Boeing 777 super jet. Max has completed paintings and projects of Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Obama. M  ax has been the subject of numerous books throughout his career. Max published “Peter Max Paints Max designed four posters for the Grammy Awards, America” in 1976, which was presented by King Carl was one of the artists chosen to redesign NBC’s XVI Gustaf of Sweden to President Gerald Ford and peacock logo between 1993 and 2002, was appointed incoming president Jimmy Carter at the White House. In as the official artist for five Super Bowls, the World Cup 2002, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. published “The Art of Peter USA in 1994, the NHL all-star game in 1996. Max,” written by Charles Riley III, Ph. D. In 2013, Max Max created the official artwork for the U.S. Tennis published “The Universe of Peter Max,” a biographical Open in 1997. In 2017, Max was again asked to create book featuring a foreword by astrophysicist Neil the official U.S. Open artwork to celebrate its 20th deGrasse Tyson. anniversary at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. In 2006, Max was selected to be the official artist for the Max was commissioned by the U.S. Post Office to U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. make the first ever environmental 10-cent stamp, M  ax was commissioned by Norwegian Cruise Line in commemorating the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane, 2011 to paint the hull of the Norwegian Breakaway Washington. cruise ship. In 1981, Max was invited by then-First Lady Nancy In 2015, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame commissioned Reagan to paint portraits of the Statue of Liberty at Peter Max to create posters and program cover art for its the White House. Thanks to this project, Max was able 30th annual induction ceremony. to work with Lee Iacocca of Chrysler on a project that would save the deteriorating Statue of Liberty. Due to M  ax was vetted by NBC to create portraits of the four Max’s involvement, the restoration project raised enough coaches of The Voice (Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen funds to restore the worn landmark and reopen it to the Stefani and Pharrell Williams), America’s highly-viewed public in July 1986. singing competition, which have been featured in print, transit ads, billboards, and on social media. In May 1991, a Peter Max retrospective featuring more than 300 works of art opened at the Hermitage In 2016, the Tampa Museum of Art held an exhibition, Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Almost 15,000 people “Peter Max: 50 Years of Cosmic Dreaming,” featuring 90 were in attendance, highlighting his international stature works by Max that span five decades. as an artist. About Park West Gallery Park West Gallery is the world’s largest art dealer, bringing the experience of collecting fine art to more than 3 million customers since 1969. No other company has the expertise, insight, or variety of art as Park West Gallery. Whether it’s mas-terpieces from history’s greatest artists or the latest artwork from leading contemporary icons, Park West offers something for everyone through its accessible art auctions on cruise ships and all over the world. 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