Pop Celebrities In London

The Animation Art Gallery in London will be hosting “Celebrities“, an art packed show of Steve Kaufman‘s iconic work at the Deluxe Gallery from the 20-26th November with a preview on Wednesday 19th November at 6:30pm.

Kaufman worked as Andy Warhol‘s colleague at The Factory from 1978, completing Warhol’s unfinished portraits for his numerous clients.
He also designed Warhol’s final Studio 54 parties that would end an era. Kaufman, by 1988, began his own Pop era by creating an unprecedented work of social art, and forging close relationships with 20th Century Icons including Ali, Sinatra & Princess Diana. He is now one of the most influential artists with his art hanging around the globe.

The Animation Art Gallery now presents his original one-off pieces capturing the essence of some of the most reknowned groups and individuals in popular culture.

The Kaufman In London show will feature his latest Madonna nude paintings, as well as portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Mohammed Ali, the Rolling Stones, Kurt Cobain, amongst others.
You can read a Profile of the artist in the Full Article below.

The Animation Art Gallery
13-14 Great Castle Street
London W1W 8LS
t: +44 (0)207 255 1456

Deluxe Gallery
2-4 Hoxton Square
London N1 6NU
t: +44 (0)207 729 8503
Admission is free

Steve Kaufman Profile
Former assistant to renowned Pop Artist Andy Warhol, Steve Kaufman aka SAK is considered one of the most important and talked-about Pop artists or our time.

He had his first one-man show at the age of 8, received a scholarship to The Parson’s School of Design at age 14, and by age 16, participated in his first group show at the Whitney Museum in New York.

Kaufman’s first one-man show was at a bank in the Bronx. The paintings were donated to the Jewish Holocaust Museum of Art in Brooklyn. In 1972, Kaufman was chosen along with nine other students from NYC to participate in a cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S., and was soon awarded a scholarship at Parson’s School of Design for fine art and design. Kaufman later enrolled in the School of Visual Arts in New York and soon met Andy Warhol.

Kaufman became Warhol’s assistant at The Factory – Warhol’s famed fine art publishing studio – Warhol was to have a profound influence over the artist’s later work.

The impact of celebrity on contemporary culture intrigues Kaufman, thus famed faces of art, music and film are often the subject of his artwork.

Kaufman seeks to discover society’s common denominators in his artwork – the elements and individuals who generate an immediate response from the viewer. Kaufman is an artistic journalist commenting on history, both past and present. His dynamic style often combines images of the world’s icons with visual tapestries woven out of landmarks or other related references to their celebrity.

Kaufman delivers his perspectives in highly refined fine art serigraphs, allowing for greater fluidity and definition in his images. Kaufman returns to each silk-screened canvas to add over-painting embellishments, making each serigraph in the edition a unique work of art. Kaufman’s artwork reflects his changing thoughts and perspectives during the creative process.

Steve Kaufman has always reflected his concern for the world around him in his work, benefiting such causes as AIDS, gang violence, homelessness, Literacy Volunteers of New York, Nevada Women’s Fund and Meals On Wheels. Instead of hiring actors or other illuminati as Warhol did, Kaufman hires gang members from the streets of LA to work in his studio as assistants.

Biography

When Steve Kaufman opened his Los Angeles studio, The Art Studio, in 2000, he opened his doors to a new century of artistic innovation, social consciousness and media events like the art world has never seen.

After winning the Underground Artist of the Year award in 1992, for creating 55 racial harmony murals in New York City, his life’s work in art and social progress was just beginning to take form.
From age eight, when he created a series of paintings that would hang in a New York Holocaust museum, until today, Kaufman has always conceived his art with a vision for a better world.

Kaufman became Andy Warhol’s ”legman” and creative assistant in 1978 and went on to design the famous theme parties at Studio 54 – developing clients such as Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Taylor – and collaborate with Saturday Night Live on its classic Pop Art opening sequence.

The 80’s saw further successes for Kaufman, and in 1989 he opened his Art Studio to address problems in inner city New York. His first efforts were campaigns for AIDS awareness and racial unity. He followed with a series of portraits of homeless people, which raised $4.72 million for the homeless.
Meanwhile, he moved into sports portraiture, with commissioned paintings of Mickey Mantle for Mantle’s Restaurant and of Joe Frazier to aid the Police Athletic League.

In 1992, Kaufman appeared with his art on Fox and MTV to promote racial harmony, and he sold prints from his racial harmony series to Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, Larry Mullen (of U2), and Eddie Murphy.
That same year, Kaufman created an AIDS memorial in New York and a 600” x 20” Meals on Wheels mural on the walls of Spago restaurant in Los Angeles.

Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1995, Kaufman began hiring ex-gang members straight out of prison as creative assistants – by 1998, he had hired over 400 former gang members as assistants.

In the meantime, John Travolta and Frank Sinatra commissioned self-portraits, painted by Kaufman. And Kaufman’s sports work continued with two series of commissioned portraits of Muhammad Ali. Ali himself said of ”The Greatest’ series, “The style and dynamic color that Steve Kaufman used in these portraits really captures the memory of my boxing career. These are the best I’ve ever seen.”

Upon the death of Frank Sinatra, daughter Nancy Sinatra appeared on Larry King Live and other programs, presenting Kaufman’?s portraits of the great singer as, “the way I want my father remembered.” Over the years, Kaufman’s legacy has grown into both a fan following and an extended family – a family that shares his vision for a better world.

Kaufman?s work hangs in the White House.
From New York’s creative community associated with contemporary artists Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquait, and Kenny Scharf, Kaufman has established his own historic identity, melding the Pop Art traditions of Warhol and others with his own innovative approaches.

Kaufman is credited with refining the screen printing process, allowing for greater fluidity and definition. He returns to each canvas to add hand-painted embellishments, which reflect his morphing perspectives during the creative process.

Says Kaufman, “I see one thing when I view my finished work, and you may see something else. The meaning of any work of art should be personal and not the result of my telling you what I want it to mean. I always want to encourage questioning. I do not believe there are absolutes – one should always evaluate.”

Source: Deluxe Gallery – The Animation Gallery