Pop Goes the Art!

If ever an artist was "of his time," Peter Max was. In the late 1960s his images of bell-bottomed youths blissfully cavorting across star-spangled, heart-bedecked, Day-Glo landscapes ideally captured the decade's specific brand of cheery, trippy optimism. And they struck such a chord with everyone who believed that "All You Need Is Love" that they propelled him to superstardom. By the end of the Sixties, he was more than an artist; Peter Max was a brand name.

Now, more than 30 years later, he is still making art and still pushing the brand. He arrives in Austin this week as part of a national tour of "Colors of a Better World," an exhibition featuring more than 100 pieces of his art, including paintings, drawings, and limited-edition prints. Obviously, these are no longer the Sixties, and Max's style has changed with the times. The elegant, thin outlines and smooth airbrushed coloring of his older work has been replaced by thick ribbons and textured smears of paint, and the subject matter ranges from Renoir-esque maidens to abstracted Old Glories. But the artwork is as eye-poppingly colorful as ever and still boasts the occasional hearts and stars. And though it's no longer the sleek, poppy signature that adorned his cosmic creations, there is still the name on every work to mark it as a genuine Max.

Peter Max will be appearing at Art on 5th, 1501 W. Fifth, April 2 & 3, 6-9pm, and April 4, 11am-1pm. For more information, call 481-1111 or visit www.arton5th.com.