Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 4

Stephen Basso
Cafe Max, bar scene red and bright color, music, genre, night club

2006

About the Item

*ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imagination, wry wit and fearless color. Mr. Basso’s works evoke a high level of inquiry. The fanciful, yet keenly observed characters are unpredictable and evocative. The viewer vacillates between surprise, delight, and consternation. A Brooklyn native, much of Basso's wildly imaginative artwork was inspired by travel to Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and especially Mexico. Combining a New York and a Mexican sensibility, he says of his work, "There is a natural surreal quality to Mexico that can collide with its harsh realities. One might call it bittersweet. It is often bawdy, but rarely vulgar, and images are everywhere. Love, hate, fear desire and of course, humor, never go out of style.” And he adds, " I like mixing high ideals with American irreverence." The elements of mystery, escapism, and humor blended with reality define his art. It is of a personal nature consisting of a cast of characters that inhabit the stage between the extreme highs and lows of life, a state of limbo where dreamlike scenarios are often pulled back to the reality of daily existence. Of his process, Mr. Basso says, "The paintings and drawings begin with objects around my home and studio, photos from various sources, and people I know, have known, or have yet to meet." By in large, Basso is self taught. (After initially attending the School of Visual Arts for Illustration, he realized painting was more engaging for him.) Seeking emotional honesty, he looked to the work of several "mentors": Max Beckmann, Francisco Goya, Willem de Kooning , Philip Guston , Marsden Hartley and Albert Pinkham Ryder - artists that spoke to the human condition.
  • Creator:
    Stephen Basso (1953, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2006
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 50.01 in (127 cm)Width: 52.01 in (132.1 cm)Depth: 2.01 in (5.1 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU133915698241

More From This Seller

View All
The Dust Collector religious theme female figure ceremonial objects, bright reds
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
oil on linen canvas heavy duty stretcher reference to Hatian vessels named govi containing souls of the departed
Category

2010s Post-Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wonderland small scale seated woman with large bouquet soft green colors
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imaginat...
Category

2010s Expressionist Interior Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Artist with Elmo, colorful childhood theme w ironic twist
By Jenny Toth
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This is an oil painting done from life with the artist's young son''s large stuffed red Elmo in repose in front of the mirror. The painting is both tender and bold. It captures one...
Category

2010s Contemporary Interior Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Have a Backbone
By Jenny Toth
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil painting depicting a woman in a mirror with an animal backbone visible where her backbone would be, and a giant eye peering on. Expressionist and emotional, the space is engagin...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Antique Lemondrops persimmon red and rich gold ochre colors interior subjects
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
First of a series of totem like images by the artist dealing with everyday ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought pr...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Hooked, " back view of figure, contemporary oil paint red & black colors
By Audrey Anastasi
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil on canvas STATEMENT by AUDREY ANASTASI: Considering myself primarily a feminist artist, painting other women, most of my work focuses on the human face, figures, animals and natu...
Category

2010s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

You May Also Like

A romantic interlude, by Alberto Cecchini. 19th century Italian
Located in London, GB
"A Romantic Interlude" by Alberto Cecchini is a wonderful work of art from the 19th century that embodies the elegance and emotional intensity of the Romantic era in Italy. The paint...
Category

19th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Attic - Modern Surrealistic Oil Painting
By Pawel Sepielak
Located in Salzburg, AT
Pawel Sepielak is a Polish painter, book illustrator and printmaker.
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Picture of People Sitting Before Painting - National Gallery, Washington DC
By Bruce Adams
Located in Buffalo, NY
Bruce Adams is best known as a conceptually based figurative painter who references various (often historical) painting styles. In exploring the act of painting, Adams peels back the...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary Figural Abstract Interior, Modernist Living Room Scene
By Michael Eggleston
Located in Soquel, CA
Contemporary Figural Abstract Interior, Modernist Living Room Scene Contemporary figural abstract interior painting by San Francisco California ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

THE EDGE OF THE HALL - Cubist Interior Painting Inspired by Covid Lockdown
By Jason Stout
Located in Signal Mountain, TN
Coming Soon
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Green Room (2022), oil on canvas, earth tones, greenhouse plants, interiors
By Delilah Ray Miske
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Green Room (2022), oil painting on canvas, earth tones, interiors, greenhouse, windows, human figure, potted plants, wooden floor "Green Room" by Delilah Ray Miske...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All