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"Running Figure" Black & White Lithograph signed Jean Nantais

1960s

Richard Proctor (1936-2022) was a prolific and versatile artist who produced various works, including written and pictorial experiments. He received a Bachelor of Science in Art Educ...

In the infinitely complex world of contemporary art, many works serve as vehicles for thought, postural statements, and emotion. Such is the case with SHAO QI, a renowned Chinese artist who skillfully blends the political, cultural, and aesthetic in her lithographic work entitled "I am a Ninja." This piece, limited to thirty copies, numbered 21/30 in pencil and dated 2011, is a perfect example of how cross-influences can be integrated and cultural barriers broken down. Historically, ninjas were inferior warriors in feudal Japan, often recruited by samurai and governments to serve as spies. Their mysteriousness has allowed them to infiltrate contemporary popular culture, so much so that their ubiquity eventually transcends borders, internationalizing the ninja and rendering its Japanese origin a simple detail, among others, in public perception, a component of a character that has become universal. Pop art, an artistic movement of the second half of the 20th century, is known for its appropriation and subversion of consumer products and cultural icons. By hijacking elements of mass culture, pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein transformed the perception of art and its eligible subjects. The use of a ninja silhouette in "I Am a Ninja" follows this tradition, exploiting a popular symbol to reimagine it. The dynamic interplay of colors, in particular the aesthetic power of red and black, is essential. Red's radiant luminescence contrasts sharply with black's ultimate absorption, framing the work in a colorimetric face-off reminiscent of the propaganda posters of yesteryear. Red, the color of revolution, power, passion, and vitality, blends with black, shadow, and emptiness. The bold black lines that delineate the figure are reminiscent of Shepard Fairey's work under the OBEY signature. These lines convey a vibrant, primitive force akin to Russian Constructivist posters...

This surreal etching portrait of Dorian Gray by Jim Dine in blue ink features the literary protagonist dressed in a white suit. His face is obscured by a mass of hair, tangles of which seem to grow from the sleeves, pant legs, and from beneath the jacket. Dine's notes are written on the image: at his feet reading "WHITE BOOTS" and "White Vinyl Suit" alongside the jacket. On the left edge of the image handwritten text reads "DORIAN GRAY AT OPIUM DEN". In Oscar Wilde's novel Dorian Gray keeps opium in an ornate box in his home, and frequents sites of consumption on the East side of London: “There were opium dens where one could buy oblivion, dens of horror where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new”. An opium den is where Sybil's brother James discovers Dorian. The brother attempts to capture the man he believes is responsible for the death of his sister. Dorian flees to his home, ultimately slashing the portrait that has kept him young for so long. Etching by Jim Dine from one of his most important artist’s books – completely designed and illustrated by Dine. Study for the Rings on Dorian Gray’s Hand from “The Picture of Dorian Gray...

Pablo Picasso "Suite 347" 1968 Engraved Hand signed. Print run of 50 copies, 22/50. 45 x 58 cm.