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

Stephen Basso
High Wire, bright color oil painting circus theme, vertical composition

2001

$2,500
£1,895.07
€2,212.68
CA$3,501.79
A$3,941.88
CHF 2,085.40
MX$48,894.14
NOK 25,767.35
SEK 24,644.19
DKK 16,507.68
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

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. His shrewd social observations often translate into eerily humorous figurative scenes and narratives. 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. Basso is particularly drawn to Latin American art, channeling its mix of Western and African influences and imagery into his vibrant, often surrealistic work. 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:
    2001
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 52.01 in (132.1 cm)Width: 20.01 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 2.01 in (5.1 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU133915701431

More From This Seller

View All
Lemon Winter, colorful humorous woman and dog
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
oil on linen on mounted board *ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works a...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Rapunzel by the Sea, fairy tale narrative, colorful whimsical fantasy
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Rapunzel figure narrative, colorful *ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical w...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Brand New Harold, colorful abstract figure and text
By C. Dimitri
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Portrait, figure, narrative, interior. Oil on canvas.
Category

2010s Outsider Art Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Soutine's Purveyor, humorous butcher with meat, food
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
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 fear...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

the golden lobster, fantasy, surreal bather
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 Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Nude on the Edge#2, colorful, whimsical imaginative nude
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 imagina...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

Mississippi River Landscape
By Saul Haymond
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Landscape Mississippi River. Saul Haymond, Sr. (1947- ) of Pickens, Mississippi is a self-taught painter who has been documenting life in the Africa...
Category

1960s Outsider Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

19th century American Folk Art of a Seated Lady in her Sunday best clothes
Located in Woodbury, CT
Unknown Artist (American School, 19th century) Portrait of a Lady in Blue, c. 1835–1850 Oil on canvas This painting is unsigned This quietly elegant portrait captures a mature woman...
Category

1850s Folk Art Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid 19th Century Folk Art Hunting Scene, Landscape, Animal and Figurative, 1852
Located in Doylestown, PA
This mid 19th Century, 25" x 30", oil on canvas, Folk Art hunting scene was painted in 1852, and signed and dated by an illegible artist. It is framed in a reproduction wood frame.
Category

1850s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large Scale Early 20th Century Oil on Canvas, The Agriculture and Livestock Fair
Located in Cotignac, FR
A large early 20th Century naive, folk art, oil on canvas view of a livestock fair by Tanim. The painting is signed bottom left. A wonderful, humorous and playful view of animals an...
Category

Early 20th Century Folk Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Feast' by Steven H. Rehfeld - Very Large Figurative Epic Original Oil Painting
By Steven H. Rehfeld
Located in Carmel, CA
Steven H. Rehfeld (American, born 1954) 'Feast' 2021 Oil paint, canvas, stretcher bars The artist signed the back of the painting. "Feast" by Steven H. Rehfeld emerges as a triumpha...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

"The Marriage Proposal (Family Gathering), " Leo Schutzman, Jewish Folk Art
By Leo Schutzman
Located in New York, NY
Leo Schutzman (1878 - 1962) The Marriage Proposal, circa 1958 Oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches Signed lower left Leo (Kyle) Schutzman (1878-1962) developed ...
Category

1950s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil