MARK KOSTABI 21. 1.—23. 2. 25
Welcome to the exhibition of contemporary American artist and composer Mark Kostabi (1960). We have selected for you very affordable graphic sheets by this artist, whose work is recognizable at first glance thanks to the faceless figures that inhabit surreal landscapes, depicted in a gaudy colorful graphic style.
American artist and composer Mark Kostabi is one of the most famous icons of New York's legendary mid-1980s East Village art scene. Kostabi, A contemporary of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat , Kostabi has developed a unique artistic style that has resonated with audiences around the world. His universal, faceless figures inhabit surreal worlds of color and contrast. Worlds in which his subjects encounter themes of love, isolation, technology, and modern anxieties. This is Kostabi's desire for a universal visual language that transcends racial and national barriers, where everyone can read their own story in his paintings.
Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles in 1960 to Estonian parents. He studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton. In 1982, he moved to New York, where he also frequently visited the legendary Andy Warhol's The Factory , and in 1984 he became a leading figure in the East Village art scene. He drew significant attention when he positioned himself as a critic of the art system and published a series of his own interviews in which he reflected on the degenerative aspects of contemporary art.
In 1987, he began exhibiting in renowned galleries in the United States, Japan, Germany, and Australia. He gained recognition in the professional press after he established an art studio in Manhattan in 1988. "Kostabi World". In 1990, Kostabi's work began to gain recognition in Italy, which prompted him to settle in Rome for the second time in 1996, dividing his life between Italy and the United States.
Among other things, he is the author of the painting "Use Your Illusion", which happened the cover of the album of the same name by Guns N' Roses . However, he did not limit his work to fine art - he is also the author of a number of applied art works, and his works can be found in many fields. He is the author of a collection of Swatch watches, Alessi vases, Rosenthal espresso mugs , or even a pink jersey for the Giro d'Italia cycling race.
Kostabi's works are permanently represented in over 60 museums and collections worldwide (including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan, the Guggenheim, and the Brooklyn Museum in New York, etc. - the list would be long). His permanent public works include a mural for the Palazzo dei Priori in Arezzo, Italy, a bronze statue in the main square in San Benedetto del Tronto, and a bronze portrait of Pope John Paul II in Velletri.
Mark Kostabi has been involved in fine arts since the age of six and has played the piano since the age of twelve. His parents were musicians, his mother was a professional piano teacher. Since the age of 12, he has been successfully alternating and combining both activities. He has currently opened a second an art studio in Rome , where he organizes residential concerts and parties. Among the artists he most admires are the Italian painters Caravaggio, Rafael Santi, Leonardo da Vinci, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Giorgio de Chirico and his role model – the American pop-art artist Andy Warhol.
