Peter Saul
September 7 – October 14, 2023
Opening: Thursday, September 7th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Venus Over Manhattan
39 Great Jones Street
New York, NY 10012
(New York, NY) – Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to present an exhibition of ten new paintings made by acclaimed artist Peter Saul over the course of 2022 and 2023. This major exhibition marks the 89-year-old artist’s first solo presentation of new work in New York since 2021, and his fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. The presentation will be on view at the gallery’s 39 Great Jones Street location, from Thursday, September 7, through Saturday, October 14.
Peter Saul’s career, spanning more than seven decades, has always been characterized by a relentless challenge to societal norms, a lurid color palette, and distinctive comic satire. Saul’s most recent works usher in a less overtly politicized dimension, continuing to explore themes and imagery introduced in his last solo exhibition in New York. They reflect upon the formal concerns he’s honed throughout his career, underscoring the source materials and symbols he frequently renders to mount his enduring challenge to the orthodoxies of artistic movements.
At the heart of the exhibition are paintings that critically and humorously address both artistic and social paradigms. “Bad Day at the Gallery” (2023) is a riotous depiction of art dealers, comically elevating the notion of art’s commercial value with its distorted figures desperately jostling paintings and money. Similarly, “Cheeseburgers in the Art World” (2023) offers a satirical perspective on the act of creation, granting agency to inanimate cheeseburgers that seemingly paint themselves into existence. Saul’s attention to global concerns is palpable in two distinct yet connected works titled “Global Warming” (2022 & 2023), where he satirizes society’s often dismissive attitude toward imminent climate crises.
Exhibiting Saul’s signature taste for contorted characters, paintings such as “Last Dime” (2022) and “Rain” (2023) showcase his penchant for peculiar perspectives, intertwining humor with a subtle critique on society’s relationship with money and natural phenomena, respectively. His humorous take on religious iconography is evident in “Holy Shit!” (2023), which daringly reinterprets a revered Christian tableau with divine, haloed turds.
If Saul’s recent works pivot away from the brazen antagonism characteristic of his early production, he has only made himself more vulnerable to their address. “Self Portrait Thinking About Art” (2023), satirizes Abstract Expressionism and provides a reflective glance into the artist’s mind, epitomizing Saul’s enduring criticism of prevailing artistic movements. Functioning with a similar compositional logic, “Extraterrestrials in the Art World” (2023) one of the largest works in exhibition, culminates like a painted spectacle that re-stages iconic motifs from Saul’s oeuvre in an exuberant, interconnected melee reminiscent of a food fight.
The works on view make manifest the artist’s continued ability to push boundaries with a set of tools honed over the course of his long career. Rooted firmly in his signature themes and styles, the exhibition offers an energized investigation of familiar subjects, framed within a more nuanced, comedic critique of artistic norms and societal concerns. Taken together, the presentation testifies to Saul’s position as one the most influential artists of his generation.
ABOUT PETER SAUL
Peter Saul was born in 1934 in San Francisco, California. He attended the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis. Saul’s work has been the subject of numerous international solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; les Abattoirs, Toulouse; Diechtorhallen Hamburg; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; the Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg; The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met, Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York; and the Fondation Salomon Art Contemporain, Annoy. Saul’s work is frequently featured in major group exhibitions at institution both stateside and abroad, including recent presentations at the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia; le Consortium, Dijon; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; the Met Breuer, New York; ; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; MoMA PS1, Long Island City; and the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus. His work is held in the permanent collections of numerous public institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. In 2021, Saul received an honorary doctorate from the New York Academy of Art. Peter Saul lives and works in New York City and upstate New York.
ABOUT VENUS OVER MANHATTAN
Founded in 2012 by Adam Lindemann, Venus Over Manhattan is dedicated to unique and iconoclastic exhibitions featuring the work of both historic and contemporary artists. Venus represents and collaborates with numerous artists and estates including Cornelius Annor, Anastasia Bay, Ana Benaroya, Joan Brown, Roger Brown, Robert Colescott, John Dogg, Jack Goldstein, Michael Kagan, Susumu Kamijo, Sophie Larrimore, Richard Mayhew, Maryan, Peter Saul, Sally Saul, Shinichi Sawada, Keiichi Tanaami, H.C. Westermann, Dustin Yellin, and Joseph Elmer Yoakum. In its ten-year history, the gallery has also staged major exhibitions of work by Billy Al Bengston, Katherine Bernhardt, Bernard Buffet, Alexander Calder, Maurizio Cattelan, William N. Copley, Walter Dahn, Roy De Forest, Mike Kelley, John McCracken, David Medalla, Cady Noland, Charlotte Perriand, Raymond Pettibon, Andy Warhol, and Franz West.
For additional information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com
