Untitled
View Similar Items
RETNAUntitled 2017
2017
About the Item
- Creator:RETNA (1979, American)
- Creation Year:2017
- Dimensions:Height: 72.05 in (183 cm)Width: 72.05 in (183 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: R0072 1stDibs: LU87532960561
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)
- Urban Mixed Media on Canvas 40x65" Going To Work 3-2By Irena OrlovLocated in Sherman Oaks, CAOne of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Artwork: Original abstract mixed media work on canvas, which combines new media - digital original hand painting, printed on canvas, then hand p...Category
2010s Street Art Interior Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic
- Gemelas DeBy Danny BrownLocated in Los Angeles, CADanny Brown’s artworks allocate an intrinsic connection between himself and the diverse communities occupying Los Angeles. Brown combines art history, streetwear trends, and pop art ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Landscape Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Canvas, Acrylic
- She From Long Beach, She On CherryBy Danny BrownLocated in Los Angeles, CADanny Brown’s artworks allocate an intrinsic connection between himself and the diverse communities occupying Los Angeles. Brown combines art history, streetwear trends, and pop art ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Landscape Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Acrylic, Canvas
- WILD HORSES, 2016, subway train, curve, graffiti, street art, figurative, panelLocated in Jersey City, NJWILD HORSES, 2016, subway train, curve, graffiti, street art, figurative, panel. Acrylic on wood panel.Category
2010s Street Art Figurative Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Wood Panel
- Frontera RojaBy Danny BrownLocated in Los Angeles, CADanny Brown’s artworks allocate an intrinsic connection between himself and the diverse communities occupying Los Angeles. Brown combines art history, streetwear trends, and pop art ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Landscape Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Pastel, Canvas
- Original Red Green Street Art on Canvas Mixed Medium Art, Contradict, 45X60"By Irena OrlovLocated in Sherman Oaks, CAOriginal Graffiti Street Art on Canvas, Mixed Medium on Canvas 45W x 60H" Original Mixed Media Graffiti Street Art on Canvas Investment Opportunity - Unique - Original - Signed Thi...Category
2010s Street Art Mixed Media
MaterialsCanvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Digital