Peter Saul (b. 1934)

With the nonchalance of an explosion, Peter Saul's paintings assault the eye with brilliant color, exaggerated style, refined brushwork, biting satire, and comic absurdity. Part parody and part parable, Saul tackles sex, violence, politics, and the vulgarity that characterizes the human condition in each of his paintings. In the present large scale work, Saul responds in part to the national preoccupation with terrorism by looking back at the Fall of Constantinople, where the world saw humanity pitted against culture, religion, politics, and economics. This defining battle of the Byzantine Empire reads like a modern day video game with heads flying, cannonballs hurtling, and scimitars flashing.