Andy Warhol: The Pioneer of Pop!

The Iconic Artist Behind the Unforgettable Movement That Challenged the Traditional Approach to Art

Andy WarholMarilyn series

August 6th marks the late Andy Warhol’s birthday, one of the most widely known artists who played an instrumental role in the emergence and enduring success of the Pop art movement. We are taking this opportunity to delve into what Pop is all about, as it remains one of the most recognizable and relevant modernist artistic styles.

Originating in the 1950s and peaking in the 60s, Pop was largely characterized as a revolt against traditional approaches to art. Artists relinquished classical artistic themes such as mythology, morality and history in favour of quotidian subject matter, turning to Hollywood films, advertisements, product packaging, music and comic books for sources of inspiration. Much to the dismay of art critics of the time, these artists boldly blurred the lines between low and high art, elevating elements of popular culture to the level of fine art.

Andy Warhol, Soup Can Series

Warhol’s oeuvre epitomizes Pop’s unprecedented exaltation of the everyday. Think of his soup can series, coke can bottles, Brillo boxes, advertisement illustrations and, most famously, his portraits of celebrity icons including Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

Andy WarholLife Savers, 1985, Screenprint, 38 x 38 inches, Edition of 190

Pop art was largely fueled by a democratic objective. Warhol, along with other key members of the movement including Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist, sought to overcome the artworld’s highbrow atmosphere of exclusivity and, instead, created art that resonated with the masses. While today, it is commonplace to witness elements of popular culture incorporated into artwork, it is crucial to recognize how revolutionary this concept was at the time. These artists truly paved the way for future artists to embrace creative liberties.

Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, 1963, Lithograph, 18 x 24 inches, unknown edition

Tom WesselmannBlonde Vivienne, 1988-89, Screenprint, 56 x 57 inches, Edition of 100

Pop art continues to live on today and has evolved into what is called Neo-Pop, a contemporary variation of the movement that includes the likes of Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami.

Please feel free to contact us with any of your Pop art requests!

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog, 2008, Broad Contemporary Art Museum, Los Angeles

Looking At Language

Text-Based Art

Language is a powerful tool – one that has been employed by many artists. The presence of text in the history of visual culture dates back centuries, however, many modern and contemporary artists have worked to shift its peripheral position to the forefront, many even creating artworks with subject matter solely dedicated to text. The written word has been adopted in the arts in versatile ways, often used as a vehicle to relay subversive messages imbued in socio-political activism, as well as in more light-hearted and humorous instances of clever wordplay. In whatever form it takes, text-based art adds a unique element to visual contemplation, forcing viewers to take a pause, read and reflect.

Have a look at some of our favourite text-based artists and please contact us for any inquiries.

Richard Prince

Mel Bochner

Robert Cottingham

John Giorno Photo by Eric Piasecki

Glen Ligon

Ed Ruscha

Jenny Holzer

 

For more text-based art, check out the following artists!:

  • Christopher Wool
  • Barbara Kruger
  • David Shrigley
  • Robert Indiana
  • Tracey Emin
  • John Baldessari
  • Harland Miller
  • Jean Michel Basquiat
  • Mr. Brainwash
  • Deborah Kass
  • Juan Plensa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mel Bocher

National Indigenous Peoples Day

Celebrating Contemporary Indigenous Artists.

June 21st marks National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, an opportunity to recognize various talented Indigenous artists across the country. Beyond traditional forms of artistry such as totem poles, elaborate masks, and textile work typically associated with First Nations culture, there is also a vast network of notable artists of Indigenous ancestry operating within the mainstream contemporary art scene. While highly personal in terms of style and expression, these artists’ works are nevertheless informed by their shared heritage. As the recent discovery of mass burial sites at residential schools demonstrates, the traumatic Indigenous experience is not merely a distant memory crystallized in the past but permeates the present. It is no surprise that Indigenous artistry is heavily imbued with themes of socio-political critique, cultural appropriation, and identity politics.

Nadia MyreIndian Act, 1999-2002, Stroud cloth and glass beads

Nadia Myre is a visual artist of Algonquin heritage living in Montreal whose work explores her tumultuous cultural history. She is well-known for her subversive artwork entitled, Indian Act, a three-year project in which the artist enlisted over 200 people to help her painstakingly bead over the 56 pages of the federal government’s 1876 Indian Act – a document that painfully reminds us of the discriminatory erasure of Indigenous culture. The artist frequently employs the traditional medium of beading in her artistic endeavors, often mixing the ancestral craft with modern photographic technology.

Nadia MyreMeditations on Black: Philosophical, 2012, Digital archival print on rag paper, 44 x 44 inches

Brian Jungen is another Indigenous artist of Cree ancestry whose use of medium is central to his oeuvre. He employs ordinary objects of everyday life and manipulates them to create masterfully intricate works that initiate a complex dialogue between traditional Indigenous motifs and mainstream global consumer culture. For instance, in his series, Prototypes of New Understanding, the artist deconstructed Nike Air Jordan sneakers to create ceremonial masks reminiscent of those used within Pacific Northwest tribes.

Brian JungenPrototype for New Understanding #23, 2005, Nike air jordans and human hair, 19 x 20 inches

Arguably one of the most well-known contemporary Indigenous artists is Toronto-based Cree artist, Kent Monkman, who has recently been commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to create two large artworks, both of which align with the artist’s general aim of upending conventional historical narratives of European settlers. The paintings feature Monkman’s recurring gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, who dons rainbow-coloured earrings and stilettos and who is celebrated as a character signaling a reversal of the colonial gaze.

Kent MonkmanWelcoming the Newcomers, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 132 x 264 inches, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

These artists represent only a few of the contemporary Indigenous artists celebrated in the artworld. If you are interested in these artists or would like to learn more, please contact us.

Black and White Art

Recent Installations

Classic, powerful, graphic, sharp, and sophisticated. These are some of the adjectives that come to mind when we think of black and white art devoid of colour. Take a look at some of our recent installations and client acquisitions that capture some fabulous monochrome moments.

If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.

 

Tom Wesselmann black and white

Tom Wesselmann

 

David Hockney

 

Gregory Siff

 

Terry O’Neill

 

Donald Sultan

Food in Art

Good Enough to Eat!

 


Wayne Thiebaud, Display Rows, 1990, lithograph, 22.5 x 28.5 inches, edition of 60

Food has been a common motif in art for centuries. Both essential for our livelihood and a source of great pleasure, it is no surprise that food and feasting have remained staple themes spanning all artistic mediums. May 11th marks “Eat What You Want Day”, so we are taking this as an opportunity to highlight some of our current favourite culinary delights depicted in artwork. So, feast your eyes on these scrumptious masterpieces!

If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.


John Baldessari, ADAM WASN’T INTO IT, 2018, 10 color screenprint, 33 x 28 inches, edition of 50


Lucy Sparrow, Nil by Mouth at 32, 2016, mixed media, 23 x 23 inches, edition of 20

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Gary Komarin, Cake Stacked, 2000, monotype, 43.5 x 34 inches


Andy Warhol, Space Fruit: Still Life (Apples), 1979, screenprint, 30 x 40 inches


Vik Muniz, National Gallery of Art (The Peppermint Bottle, Cezanne), Repro, 2018, digital C-Print, 40 x 50.25 inches, Edition of 6


Miles Aldridge, Crazy Rich Asians #1, 2013, chromogenic print, various sizes available


Chloe Wise, You’re like Versailles, you never move, 2018, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Can the Artworld Take a Joke?

Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian, for sale from Perrotin at Art Basel Miami Beach, 2019

For centuries, April Fool’s Day has been celebrated on the first day of the month, a frivolous, unofficial holiday filled with practical jokes and pranks. During these heavy times, we could all use some lightheartedness, so we are taking this opportunity to highlight memorable pranks that have been played on the art world.

Some may recall the fake glasses incident that occurred at the San Francisco MoMA in 2016. Puzzled by some of the overly simplistic conceptual art pieces they encountered, two teenagers strategically placed a pair of eyeglasses underneath a wall placard in the hopes of duping visitors. Within minutes, bystanders stopped to ponder the glasses and take photos, treating them as if they were a bona fide artwork in the museum’s exhibition.


Glasses placed on the floor at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2016

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While this case was a harmless teenage scheme, pranks have also been enacted by high profile artists. Most famously, Banksy orchestrated the destruction of one of his artworks during a live Sotheby’s auction that occurred in London in 2018. Immediately after the hammer pounded to solidify the sale of a Bansky painting for 1.4 million dollars, an alarm sounded and the artwork’s bottom half slid through an automatic shredder the artist himself concealed within its frame. This shocked the audience members as well as the auction house staff. The buyer ultimately decided to keep the partially destroyed artwork, whose titled officially changed from Girl with Balloon to Love in the Bin.

The most recent prank to send shockwaves throughout the art world was the infamous banana incident at Art Basel in Miami two years ago. The public became both bewildered and utterly fascinated by Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork showcased at the fair entitled, Comedian, which featured a ripe banana duct taped to the wall. Unbeknownst to the artist, performance artist David Datuna casually approached the artwork, grabbed the fruit off the wall and proceeded to eat it. This stunt elicited even more attention around the controversial piece. It is worth noting that three editions of this conceptual artwork sold, the first two selling at $120,000 before the price was raised to $150,000.

While certainly entertaining, these art pranks are not merely fatuous instances of harmless fun, as these spectacles catapulted these artworks into the canon of art history, potentially increasing their value significantly.


Banksy, Love is in the Bin, aerosol paint and acrylic paint on canvas, 40 x 31 inches, 2018 (originally Girl with Balloon, 2006)

3D Art

The art world is complex, capricious and often difficult to navigate. It can, therefore, be particularly daunting when inheriting an artwork or an entire collection without proper knowledge of the myriad divesting…

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Happy Valentine’s Day from RRFA

We hope these artworks make your HeARTs happy!

If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.


Damien Hirst series (Source: Architectural Digest)


Paul Solberg, Spell, 2016, archival pigment inks with flocking, edition of 35, 45 x 30 inches


Polly Apfelbaum, There Are Many Hearts 3, 2020, woodblock monoprint, 14 x 14 inches

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Jim Dine, Poem on Main Street, 2017, edition of 4, 52.5 x 39 inches


Marilyn Minter, Prism, 2009, photograph, edition of 27, 20 x 16 inches


Donald Baechler, Brown Rose, 2015, silkscreen, edition of 35, 40 x 31 inches

Veering Virtual

Artworld Year in Review

 


Virtual viewing room, Frieze Art Fair 2020

2020 is a year that reshaped nearly all spheres of activity on a global scale – the artworld being no exception. Despite gallery closures and fair cancellations, the artworld has managed to persist through the pandemic, demonstrating a strong and resilient market.

With access to brick and mortar denied, the artworld largely moved online where virtual viewing rooms have become a staple. Even with the lack of hustle and bustle and the throngs of elite that usually pervade art fair convention centres, gallerists from major art fairs are touting strong sales from their online efforts. Similarly, auction houses acted swiftly to move their art auctions exclusively virtual with equally successful outcomes. Sotheby’s has reported global sales of over 5 billion for the year 2020, an increase from their 2019 of 4.8 billion.


El Anatsui, Metas III, 2014 – Sold for $1.5 million at Frieze Art Fair 2020

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The industry’s successful launch into the virtual sphere during this unprecedented year is an indication that buyers are still actively investing in art and that they are comfortable purchasing artwork sight unseen. When presented with quality art from trusted sources, the pandemic has proven not to be a roadblock for art collectors, investors, and dealers.

If you are looking to add to your collection, invest in fine art, or sell art, or if you need an art consultant or appraiser, contact Robin Rosenberg Fine Art!


Roy Lichtenstein, Nude with Joyous Painting, 1994, Sold at Christie’s New York for $46.2 million in July 2020

Hans Jean Arp

Hans Jean Arp

Jean (Hans) Arp was a French / German sculptor, painter, and poet. His work and artistic voice were deeply influential in creating both the Dada and Surrealist movements. He is well known for his biomorphic sculptures, which are described as ‘organic abstraction.’ These sculptures are abstract and non-representational, yet suggest natural motifs such as transformation, metamorphosis, and growth which are common themes within Arp’s art practice.

Arp was born in 1886, in Alsace which is a French town bordering Germany.  Arp referred to himself as ‘Jean’ when speaking French, and as ‘Hans’ when speaking German. In 1911, Arp helped establish the first modern art alliance, Der Moderne Bund, thus interacting with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso.  During World War I, Arp fled the horrors and dangers of war by going to Zurich, Switzerland, where he consequently helped found the Avant-Garde Dada Movement, which aimed to create chaos, while focusing on work that was both interdisciplinary and international.

In 1925, Arp helped form a new major art movement: Surrealism. His work was shown at the first Surrealist exhibition at Galerie Pierre, in Paris, alongside Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Man Ray, and Joan Miro, among others. He experienced extreme commercial success, which continued into the 1930s.  His sculptures, in particular, gained much attention, following the 1937 exhibition at the Museum Of Modern Art, New York.

Today Arp’s work can be found in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.