Peter’s principle: Longevity

Kirk Baird

Friday, May 16, 2003 | 8:54 a.m.

What: Peter Max "Pop to Patriotism" exhibit.

When: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday.

Where: Bal Harbour Gallery at Fashion Show mall.

Admission: Free.

Information: (702) 513-8385.

Peter Max is a survivor. In the art world that's saying a lot.

A groundbreaking painter who created the "Cosmic Art" of the '60s, Max, 65, has since moved on.

And that's the key to his success ... and survival.

"He's got a sense of longevity about him, which is one of the measures you use to assess an artist: Are they able to sustain themselves and not just crank out the same thing time and time again like a template?" said Bob Tracy, associate dean of the college of fine arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"He's kept some of his strengths from his work in the '60s and he's holding on to those strengths. But he's also moving on. And I think that's admirable."

Max acknowledges his evolution as an artist well.

"What I do today is very much 2003," he said in a recent phone interview from a New York City cafe. "Today is more abstract. My work is very bold, very brushy, very abstract. It's also very expressive, very conceptual and based on composition."

Max will make three appearances -- Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- at the Bal Harbour Gallery at the Fashion Show mall to promote his "Pop to Patriotism" exhibit.

That's not to say he's ashamed of his colorful and trippy work that helped push the pop art movement of the '50s and '60s into the mainstream 30 years ago.

While he has since abandoned the cosmic style following a decade-long sabbatical from painting for the public, he said it's probably what he's best known for.

"People come up to me and thank me for the art of the '60s," he said. "My art has become synonymous with the '60s. But many art forms happened during that time. Mine was more the mood of the people."

As a result of his work in the '60s and all that he's done since -- including painting several presidents, a Boeing 777 wide- body super jet and, most recently, 45 portraits of U2's Bono for the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute honoring the singer -- Tracy said Max remains one of the nation's pre-eminent painters.

"He's definitely part of that pop-culture grittiness of the street and urban life," he said. "Max has certainly found a canvas of expression of that generation coming out of the '50s.

"It sort of reminds me of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac. A whole generation of people who are highly mobile and looking for the next thrill. And I think Peter Max captures that."