Peter 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.
The artist who has painted for six U.S. presidents, five Super Bowls and countless rock stars was born Peter Max Finkelstein in October 1937 in Berlin, Germany.
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.
It then exploded and will be celebrated at Key West Gallery, 601 Duval St. through May 31 for “The Peter Max Retrospective: Celebrating the Pop Art Movement, Music and Artistic Vision.”