KVNO News: Gallery 72 Welcomes Peter Max

Reprinted from KVNO News

With a body of work that’s helped define the American artistic landscape for decades, artist Peter Max will have a newly-curated collection of painting on exhibit at Omaha’s Gallery 72 located at 1806 Vinton Street. To mark the exhibition, Max will make two appearances at the gallery for a pair of ‘Meet the Artist” receptions on Saturday, April 23rd from 4-7 p.m. and Sunday, April 24th from 2-5 p.m.

Peter Max has painted for five U.S. Presidents and his art is on display in Museums, Presidential Libraries and in U.S. Embassies across the globe. He has been the Official Artist of the Grammy’s, five NFL Super Bowls, the 2006 Olympics, and the World Cup, as well as The World Series, The U.S. Open, The Indy 500, The NYC Marathon and The Kentucky Derby. He grew up all over the world, spending the first 10 years of his life in China then Tibet, Paris, and Israel before his family settled down in Brooklyn, NY. Though he’d always loved art, Max said it was his formative years in New York where he fully embraced his calling.

“I always loved it,” Max said. “I was always good in art classes. Finally, when I graduated high school, I took a short course in art at a big art school in Manhattan. I loved it so much that I stayed there for six years. It was unbelievable. Then, I came out of it painting and being really good at my craft.”

Max’s work is known for its signature psychedelic style and colors. Though the style came natural to him, he had no idea about the kind of popularity his work would accumulate.
“I had this art style that I loved. I didn’t even know about the popularity,” he said. “It got very famous and, suddenly before I knew it, it was on every magazine cover and every television show. It was a constant that grew and grew. It was amazing to me.”

One of Max’s biggest joys over the years is the chance to paint portraits of the world’s celebrities and dignitaries from Taylor Swift and Liza Minnelli, to President Obama, Margaret Thatcher, and even the Dalai Lama. He said he is looking forward to meeting the people of Omaha and has some advice for any aspiring artists out there.

“Just keep on painting and drawing. Keep your eye on media and it will all develop and happen. These things happen so nicely all the time. I’m just so proud of how these things happen.”
Peter Max will make two appearances in Omaha on on Saturday, April 23rd from 4-7 p.m. and Sunday, April 24th from 2-5 p.m. inside Gallery 72 at 1806 Vinton Street. For more information on the events call 866-900-6699 or email Omaha@roadshowcompany.com.