Mr Brainwash Liberty 22

For more than a decade, Thierry Guetta, under his moniker, Mr. Brainwash, has been pushing the envelope of contemporary art. The orchestrated collision of street art and pop art has been his balancing act. The tipping point for Mr. Brainwash was his groundbreaking footage from the widely-acclaimed documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. This Academy-nominated film demonstrates the evolution of the street art movement with Mr. Brainwash, who, alongside Banksy, brings the art to the masses. Mr. Brainwash rocked the art world with his innovative and fearless style. He uses elements from pop art’s past and the raw components of his street art beginnings to create larger-than-life exhibitions and collaborations. Mr. Brainwash’s imaginative construction of gallery exhibitions and art shows throughout the world has continued to attract the attention of critics and celebrities alike. Navigating between worlds of film, celebrity culture, music, and sports, Mr. Brainwash has designed album covers for Madonna, Rick Ross, and KYGO. His artwork was featured in films and television productions such as Molly’s Game, Billions, Shameless, and the Kardashians. Mr. Brainwash’s talents are showcased in creative partnerships with powerhouse brands like Hublot, Coca Cola, and Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee. He also collaborated with world known soccer player Pelé, who joined the artist in splattering paint on select artwork. While undertaking worldwide solo exhibitions and residency at Art Basel each year, Mr. Brainwash creates opportunities to engage the public in the world of art. To that end, Mr. Brainwash has traveled across the globe for speaking engagements and seminars including addresses at UCLA, Columbia University and Semi Permanent, Australia’s largest creative conference. Mr. Brainwash’s passion extends his commitment to giving back to the community. He continues to donate artwork in support of the Los Angeles LGBT center, created commemorative 9/11 murals to honor the victims, and partnered with Product RED to raise AIDS awareness. Mr. Brainwash also lends his yearly support to organizations such as the Prince’s Trust for the benefit of vulnerable youth. He met with former First Lady Michelle Obama in support of her organization, “Let Girls Learn” that helps adolescent girls attend and complete school. He was also honored to meet privately with Pope Francis in Rome to raise funds for Scholas, the Pope’s personal foundation to serve the youth of the world. Mr. Brainwash continues his journey and “Time Will Tell”.

Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.

Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.

Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.

Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.

Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.

“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.

Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.

For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)

Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.