Key West Gallery, 601 Duval St. will celebrate two different but equally impressive painters this month, one who’s still at the front end of his career and one, Peter Max, now 86, who can look back on 60 years of colorful creativity.
Painter Philip Anthony will appear at Key West Gallery March 23-25, offering live painting demonstrations during both the afternoon and evening.
Born in Glendale, California, Anthony’s family moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho when he was young. His artistic talent developed subtly with drawing and sketching as he grew up. He was drawn to traditional black and white photography and the process of working in a darkroom. Moving to Florida to be a film director, he was pulled toward cinematography, focusing on composition and lighting.
His Key West show, “Monochromatic Reflections,” features sunrises, sunsets and seascapes in riveting detail.
Then, on March 25, turn the page into the colorful world of Peter Max, whose retrospective will be on display and for sale through March 31.
With paintings on display in hundreds of museums and galleries worldwide, Max, now 86, and his vibrant colors have become part of the fabric of contemporary culture.
The artist has painted seven U.S. presidents and countless celebrities. He has been named the official artist of the Grammys and the official artist of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The NFL commissioned Max as the first official artist in Super Bowl history and asked him to create commemorative art for five consecutive Super Bowls.
“Throughout the years, I have painted so many beautiful, beautiful, imaginative musicians: Mick Jagger, Sting, the Beatles, David Bowie, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Pharrell Williams, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, Yes, Phil Collins, Gwen Stefani, Steven Tyler, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and so many others,” Max said. “It’s mind-blowing when I think about it. I love great music and the amazingly talented people who make it.”
Max’s world didn’t always include the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen and Super Bowl stars. His life wasn’t always as vibrantly reassuring as the iconic paintings in signature colors that would come to define the artist — and an entire pop art movement.
He was born Peter Max Finkelstein in October 1937 in Berlin, Germany.
His parents fled the Nazi regime a year later, moving among China, Israel and Paris. The family finally settled in Brooklyn, New York when their son, now known simply as Peter Max, was 16.
He studied at the prestigious Art Students League of New York and was involved with the psychedelic movement in the ’60s and the counterculture revolution that accompanied the colorful exploration. Max’s art career started when he began creating posters for bands of the ’60s, complete with bubbly letters, abstract designs and rainbow hues.
