Cleon Peterson's works continue to investigate the evil side of humanity

It’s no secret we’re fond of artist Cleon Peterson and despite the macabre subject matter of his paintings and drawings, we’re always excited to see more of his depictions of death or violent orgies. As his recent work has reached new depths of immorality, we thought it was time to catch up the artist, who has delved into new disciplines of working too.

“In the last year I’ve been investigating the dark, shadow or evil side within humanity,” Cleon tells It’s Nice That. “I think if we become aware, embrace and don’t deny this aspect of our existence we can come to terms with ourselves and ‘others’.” Of late he’s been inspired by the work of artist Philip Guston, due to his “very very introspective work,” and because “I see his work as addressing this stuff,” Cleon explains. “As an artist I feel like I have the responsibility to tell truths and address personal subjects. I can relate to both the victims and victimisers, and through my limited experiences understand the complexities with some of these relationships and in our world.”

The artist’s previous work often depicted acts of sin in a harsh red, but his more recent pieces – including an exhibition Victory at Galerie Du Jour in Paris – use lighter beige tones to offset his consistent use of black. Despite having a lighter colour tone to them, darkness is still very much the star of the show in Cleon’s works, which tackle some of our worst qualities head on.