RETNAUntitled2023
2023
About the Item
- Creator:RETNA (1979, American)
- Creation Year:2023
- Dimensions:Height: 60 in (152.4 cm)Width: 40.25 in (102.24 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU574314111502
RETNA
Born Marquis Lewis on March 24, 1979, in Los Angeles, CA, Retna joined the Los Angeles mural scene as a teenager.
As a youth of African-American, El Salvadorian and Cherokee descent growing up in Los Angeles, Retna was mesmerized by the gang graffiti that surrounded him. He began practicing the art form and adopted the name Retna from a Wu-Tang Clan song. In the mid-nineties, he began making murals on walls, trains and freeway overpasses throughout the city.
Retna transformed from a street artist to a break-out star in the contemporary art world. He garnered attention from Usher, an R&B artist, who commissioned the artist to create a portrait of Marvin Gaye, and MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch, who wrote in the September 2010 issue of Juxtapoz “one of the most exciting exhibitions...this year, anywhere, was Retna's exhibition at New Image Art.” MOCA also featured Retna's work in the major “Art in the Streets” exhibit, the first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art.
At first glance, Retna’s prints and paintings look like an undiscovered ancient script: a series of hypnotic symbols — complex, beautiful and captivating. But he has created an original alphabet, fusing together influences from ancient Incan and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic, Asian calligraphy, graffiti, blackletter, Roman lettering and Hebrew script.
Each piece carries meaning, conveying an event or dialogue that the artist experienced. The writing does not belong to a particular language. Retna explains, “I want my text to feel universal. I want people from different cultures to all find some similarity in it — whether they can read it or not.” He has also stated that “it is important to have art in the streets as a cultural fabric that is woven into the city for the upliftment of civic pride.”
Retna’s works are in the private collections of Jeffrey Deitch, Swizz Beats, Usher, and Dave Chappelle, among many others. His large-scale mural across the eastern exterior of Restoration Hardware’s new gallery in West Palm, Florida, was valued at $500,000 by the city’s Art in Public Places program.
Retna has collaborated with major fashion brands including Nike, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Helmut Lang, and designed the artwork for Justin Bieber’s Purpose album cover. RETNA also acted as the artistic designer for the San Francisco and Washington National Opera’s production of “Aida."
Find original Retna art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by New Union Gallery)
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- JazzBy David HayesLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLDavid Hayes (1931 - 2013) Jazz, 2011 Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36 x 2 inCategory
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- IntersectionBy David HayesLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLDavid Hayes (1931 - 2013) Intersection, 2011 Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36 inCategory
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Young LizzieBy Andrew CottonLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLAndrew Cotton Young Lizzie, 2023 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 48 x 2.50 inCategory
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Bond Girl IIBy Andrew CottonLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLAndrew Cotton Bond Girl II, 2022 Mixed Media on Surfboard 73.50 x 19 x 1.75 inCategory
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- I Love You, Not Just YouBy RETNALocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLMarquis Lewis, a.k.a - RETNA was born in Los Angeles, from El Salvadorian, Cherokee, Spanish, and African American bloodlines. He chose the moniker “RETNA” from the lyrics to a Wu-Ta...Category
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Slang Them ColorsBy RETNALocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLMarquis Lewis, a.k.a - RETNA was born in Los Angeles, from El Salvadorian, Cherokee, Spanish, and African American bloodlines. He chose the moniker “RETNA” from the lyrics to a Wu-Ta...Category
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Aboriginal Painting by Michael Nelson TjakamarraBy Michael Nelson TjakamarraLocated in Miami, FLMichael Nelson Tjakamarra (also cited as: Michael Nelson Jagamarra, or Jakamara) is a Senior Warlpiri Tribesman and an Elder of the Papunya Community in central Australia. Born c. 1949 at Pikilyi, Vaughan Springs west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory, he grew up ‘in the bush’. His father was an important tribal elder and medicine man at Yuendumu. It was therefore automatic that he would grow up with the traditional values and knowledge that now influences his paintings. Michael lived at Haasts Bluff until his parents took him to Yuendumu for European education at the mission school. He left school at thirteen, after initiation, and worked at buffalo shooting, driving trucks, droving cattle and in the army, before returning to Yuendumu and then to Papunya to settle in 1976. He worked for a time in the Government store and for the Council. Michael learned to paint at Papunya by observing the senior men such as Billy Stockman and Old Mick Tjakamarra. Although he was tutored by his uncle, Jack Tjupurrula, Michael developed his own style and began painting earnestly from 1983. Michael is known as master desert painter for his depiction of several Dreamings in one painting. For him the understanding of the Dreaming stories that go with his paintings is all important – without the stories his paintings would ‘mean nothing’ as far as he is concerned. His Dreamings include the Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, Rock Wallaby, Bush Banana, Honey Ant and Yam. In 1984 Michael won the National Aboriginal Art Award with his painting ‘Three Dreamings’. His reputation as a painter rose rapidly after this. He exhibited his work in the 1986 Biennale of Sydney and featured in ‘The State of the Art’, a British art documentary. In 1987 Michael had been asked to paint a major work (27’long) to decorate the foyer of Sydney’s Opera House and he chose to paint his ‘Possum Dreaming’ story. A great highlight in Michael’s career was in 1988 when he was commissioned to design a 196 sq-metre mosaic in the main forecourt of Australia’s new Parliament House in Canberra. The work was based on his ‘Kangaroo and Emu’ dreaming. Michael was presented to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Acrylic
- Aboriginal Painting by Michael Nelson TjakamarraBy Michael Nelson TjakamarraLocated in Miami, FLMichael Nelson Tjakamarra (also cited as: Michael Nelson Jagamarra, or Jakamara) is a Senior Warlpiri Tribesman and an Elder of the Papunya Community in central Australia. Born c. 1949 at Pikilyi, Vaughan Springs west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory, he grew up ‘in the bush’. His father was an important tribal elder and medicine man at Yuendumu. It was therefore automatic that he would grow up with the traditional values and knowledge that now influences his paintings. Michael lived at Haasts Bluff until his parents took him to Yuendumu for European education at the mission school. He left school at thirteen, after initiation, and worked at buffalo shooting, driving trucks, droving cattle and in the army, before returning to Yuendumu and then to Papunya to settle in 1976. He worked for a time in the Government store and for the Council. Michael learned to paint at Papunya by observing the senior men such as Billy Stockman and Old Mick Tjakamarra. Although he was tutored by his uncle, Jack Tjupurrula, Michael developed his own style and began painting earnestly from 1983. Michael is known as master desert painter for his depiction of several Dreamings in one painting. For him the understanding of the Dreaming stories that go with his paintings is all important – without the stories his paintings would ‘mean nothing’ as far as he is concerned. His Dreamings include the Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, Rock Wallaby, Bush Banana, Honey Ant and Yam. In 1984 Michael won the National Aboriginal Art Award with his painting ‘Three Dreamings’. His reputation as a painter rose rapidly after this. He exhibited his work in the 1986 Biennale of Sydney and featured in ‘The State of the Art’, a British art documentary. In 1987 Michael had been asked to paint a major work (27’long) to decorate the foyer of Sydney’s Opera House and he chose to paint his ‘Possum Dreaming’ story. A great highlight in Michael’s career was in 1988 when he was commissioned to design a 196 sq-metre mosaic in the main forecourt of Australia’s new Parliament House in Canberra. The work was based on his ‘Kangaroo and Emu’ dreaming. Michael was presented to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Acrylic
- Archaic Hercules Skinning a Rabbit - Contemporary, Sun, Rabbit, Red, YellowBy Alexandru RădvanLocated in Berlin, DEArchaic Hercules Skinning a Rabbit, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 53.14 H x 55.11 W in. 135 H x 140 W cm In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and his numerous far-ra...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
- 'Sapphire Sea Spruce' original acrylic painting signed by Daniel KlewerBy Daniel KlewerLocated in Milwaukee, WI'Sapphire Sea Spruce' is an excellent example of the paintings of Daniel Klewer, coming from his series 'Linear Tactility.' The paintings in this series all share a consistent, linea...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- "Walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time", landscape, mixed mediaBy Frantz LexyLocated in Natick, MA“Walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time” is a 30 x 40 inch multimedia painting by Frantz Lexy. This landscape shows a green mountain with a rocky brown and beige summit. The...Category
2010s Contemporary Paintings
MaterialsMarble
- "Roxbury" Massachusetts, Acrylic, Street Scene, Winner Student PrizeLocated in Detroit, MISALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Roxbury” is a stunning landscape of architecture and city deleterious. Moon-Joo Lee received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Department of Painting in 2003 and received the schools' Top Prize with this painting. “Roxbury” subsequently was on display at Chrysler’s World Headquarters for a period of time. While at Cranbrook she began to document the ubiquitous construction sites skirting Detroit and similar cities across the country. The transitory urban fabric became her compelling subject, emblematic of fluctuating socio-economic conditions and a widespread culture of uncertainty. - Joe Houston of Cranbrook Art Museum. Lee’s painting “Roxbury” captures the cycle of construction, destruction and reconstruction that perpetually transforms the American city scene. In this image, a business that boasts NEW in its signage is already in the process of being destroyed. This could be a scene of bombing or environmental damage, but per Moon-Joo Lee’s aesthetics, the mountainous terrain of assorted refuse is there to remind the viewer that perhaps new and better do not necessarily mean that nor do they guarantee positive change. Lee's contemporary landscape underscores the extent to which nature has been supplanted by a manufactured environment, portraying rampant cultural transformation as a modern expression of manifest destiny. Moon-Joo Lee is one of the many well-known artists who attended The Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. It is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on the landmark Saarinen-designed campus which features: private studios, state-of-the art workshops, the renowned Cranbrook Art Museum and 300 acres of forests, lakes and streams, all a short drive from the city of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside the graduate students. Numerous creative artists who are alumni of Cranbrook include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald Lipski, Duane Hanson, Nick Cave, Hani Rashid, George Nelson, Urban Jupena (Nationally recognized fiber artist), Artis Lane (the first African-American artist to have her sculpture, "Sojourner Truth," commissioned for the Emancipation Hall in the Capital Visitor Center in Washington DC), Cory Puhlman (televised Pastry Chef extraordinaire), Thom O’Connor (Lithographs), Paul Evans (Brutalist-inspired sculpted metal furnishings), Eugene Caples (small bronze images/abstract), Morris Brose (Bronze Sculptures), Herb Babcock (blown glass), Larry Butcher (mixed media), Lauren Anais Hussey (Abstract), Andrea Eis (film, photography), Lilian Swann Saarinen (Sculpture), Douglas Semivan...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic