Blog Post #3- The Artist Who Shattered The System: Mark Kostabi

In galleries across the world, Mark Kostabi’s paintings were/are installed at places such as Mitsukoshi Museum in Tokyo (1992) and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome. via.  An American artist who rarely touched a brush during the pinnacle of his career plundered the art world. Mark’s actions left many questioning his abilities as a labor artist. Mark was the happenings of a great modern Con Artist. Let’s take a step backward… Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles in 1960. Studying drawing and painting at California State University, Mark found his passion for arts and the business side of its corresponding reality. Moving to New York, Mark discovered a sense of style, direction, and provocative persona that captivated high-end consumers. This footage from the 1980s showcases Mark’s blunt, yet honest personality during his career. His faceless figures quickly became the foundation of the Kostabi Studio. Using bright colors and unorthodox shapes to form a limitless world of artwork, Mark Kostabi found the niche to keep art collectors buying his productions. I love the details, ideology, color schemes, and overall consistency showcased in Mark’s portfolio. An article from Globe-News Wire introduces excerpts from Mark’s career and his recent activities while depicting past artwork. Mark Kostabi redefined how a new generation will perceive the structure of buying modern art. Mark’s vision for the art world is beyond art itself; it also takes on a psychological, social, political and economic perspective. Does a person care more about the art or the character? One may view Mark Kostabi as a manipulative con-artist while I see him as a human being who adapted to breaking the loop.

BEYOND THE POINT OF NO RETURN, 2007

DEAL OR NO DEAL, 2007

DRAWN TO THE EDGE, 2007

BIT BY BIT, 1992

KOSTABI BLUE PEGASUS, 1991

LOVE LETTERS, 2006

Mark Kostabi

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