HenryOnPopArt

Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin” 2018, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas

Modeled after Roman religious architecture and featuring beautiful, colored glass windows over the entrance, it took 30 years after it was originally designed to be completed. The artist never got to see his creation, as he passed just after construction began. Working as always with immersive color, form and light, the finished structure is clean, elegant, filled with the spectrum of pure harmonious hues as the sun rays filter through the windows…a marvelous, breathtaking space. “Austin” is a masterpiece, the only building Ellsworth Kelly ever designed.

Find out more about this brilliant artist in our article, "Ellsworth Kelly - Master Colorist"⁠

“In a sense, what I’ve tried to capture is the reality of flux, to keep art an open, incomplete situation, to get at the rapture of seeing.” – Ellsworth Kelly

When anyone speaks of legendary artist Ellsworth Kelly, they speak of Color. Painter, sculptor and printmaker extraordinaire, Ellsworth Kelly became one of the most important figures in postwar American art.

He was born in New York in 1923. When he was very young, his mother and grandmother got him interested in ornithology and later, this early fascination with the vivid colors of birds would influence his choice of colors in his art. Kelly later studied painting at the Pratt Institute before serving in WWII for a very unusual battalion...

Find out more about this brilliant artist in our article, "Ellsworth Kelly - Master Colorist"

https://henryonpopart.com/ellsworth-kelly-master-colorist/

Artwork: Ellsworth Kelly - Nine Squares

Celebrating artists young and old...

Though he started painting in the 1940s, he continues to be prolific to the present day. Yet Alex Katz only achieved fame in the 80s, when the public finally caught up to his elegant simplicity and clean sensibility.

As art lovers and collectors, we should keep our minds open, no matter the age of the artist. As we’re seeing, one can be great in all seasons. The passionate art lover and art collector can recognize that taking a vital role in the pleasure and support of great art is an art form itself.

Henry on Pop Art works with artists at every stage in life. If there is one lesson to be taken away from that experience, it’s this: no one is too young or too old to make art. It’s always the right time to express yourself creatively. In the end, it’s how powerful the final art is, no matter the age of the artist.

For more of the story...Please enjoy our "Art is Ageless"⁠
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Artwork: Alex Katz - Vivien

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You're never too young or too old to be an artist!

Early Start in Art - Jean-Michel Basquiat

On December 22, 1960, Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican mother. His diverse cultural heritage would serve as one of his deepest sources of inspiration.

He was precocious, able to read and write at the age of 4 and able to speak 3 languages, French, Spanish and English. At the age of 7, one of his earliest memories, Basquiat was badly injured, hit by a car while playing in the streets. He had to have his spleen removed…while recovering, his mother bought him a copy of Gray’s Anatomy. Anatomy would become a recurring theme in his artwork, especially skulls. Self-taught, Basquiat began drawing at an early age on sheets of paper his father brought home from the office. As he delved deeper into his creative side, his mother recognized and strongly encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents. She often took him to museums throughout Manhattan.

Driven by his incessant need to create, he quit high school and hit the streets of New York City, painting and drawing on anything he could find, doors, walls, fridges, TVs…anything and everything was fair game as a canvas. In this rich mix of art, music, danger and poverty, Jean-Michel Basquiat catapulted to stardom in the world of art.

For more of the story...Please enjoy our "Art is Ageless"⁠
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Artwork: Jean-Michel Basquiat - Rome Pays Off

Art is Ageless

You're never too young or too old to be an artist. There are a lot of preconceived notions in the art world. Probably some of the most damaging are the ageist views many galleries and collectors have. If an artist hasn’t gained recognition and success by a certain age, the odds of the art world taking notice can be challenging. Even if an older artist has just hit their artistic stride, no matter the decade.

But the truth is, artists begin at all ages. Many begin when they are very young and continue long into their golden years.

A quick trip through the topic reveals that some of the greatest artists to ever pick up the brush broke with our expectations of age.

Why you're never too young to become an artist...

The art world always needs young people to join the conversation. The younger generations bring fresh perspectives and don’t carry the same old prejudices. What’s more, the future is the world they will have to live in, so they should have some say in it. So many more mediums are being explored, especially the digital realm, which offers a whole new artistic landscape.

For more of the story...Please enjoy our "Art is Ageless"⁠

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Artwork: Yayoi Kusama - Dots Obsession

Artist Donald Sultan has spent the past 20 years focusing on still-lifes and the motifs of poppies, lemons, freesias, trumpet flowers, mimosas, butterflies, dominos, dice, playing cards and tulips. His more dramatic works are the “Smoke Rings,” depicting evanescent rings of white smoke that seem to float on their rich black backgrounds, and his breathtaking, cinematic, industrial landscapes featuring catastrophes, “The Disaster Paintings,” that capture the fragile balance between structure and chaos.

Sultan has exhibited in London, Paris, Rome, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Barcelona and Berlin, among other cities. His work is in the collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, NY; Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, MA; Ludwig Museum, Budapest; Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Museum of Modern Art, NY; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; Singapore Museum of Art, Singapore; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY; Tate Gallery, London; Toledo Museum of Art, OH; Walker Art Center, MN; the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY and more…

Donald Sultan is one of those rare artists who is respected by critics and art lovers alike. His focus on exploration—of materials, techniques, perspectives—has resulted in a body of work that is both strikingly beautiful and intriguingly complex. Whether you’re a passionate art collector or someone who just appreciates a powerful image when you see one, there’s no denying that Donald Sultan is an artist whose vision is worth beholding again and again.

For more of the story...please enjoy our "Donald Sultan - Master of Mediums"⁠
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Artwork: Donald Sultan - Gold Flowers
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Beautiful Blues.

Artist Donald Sultan is also well known for his prints and sculptures, which embrace the same motifs as his paintings. He is a master of multiple mediums, from painting, etching, silkscreen, woodcut, lithography and sculpture among other art techniques and non-traditional industrial media such as plaster, spackle, tar, Masonite, vinyl floor tiles, latex, rubber, PVC and metals.

According to the British art historian and author Ian Dunlop, Sultan’s paintings, “fall into two groups: the first group consists of bold, brightly colored pictures with well-defined shapes and crisp outlines forming a clear silhouette; the second group consists of dark, hard to read pictures full of menace and often inspired by disastrous industrial events such as warehouse fires, airplane crashes, and freight train derailments. In both cases the pictures make a strong, immediate visual statement.”

For more of the story...please enjoy our "Donald Sultan - Master of Mediums"⁠
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Link in Bio⁠
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Artwork: Donald Sultan - Six Blues

Donald Sultan - Master of Mediums

“My father was a physical person…I just felt most comfortable making things and moving things. Part of the whole American experience I came out of was the empire building mentality… physical labor. My grandfather was on the assembly lines of Detroit in the Depression. It was the way it was.” – Donald Sultan

The legendary Studio 54’s late co-founder Steve Rubell astutely remarked in 1985, “…artists [were] becoming the stars of the 1980s, like the rock stars of the 1960s or the fashion designers of the 1970s,” and artist Donald Sultan was fully riding this wave as his works were in high demand and commanding high prices...

An unusual project appeared in 1999. Sultan was invited to Budapest, Hungary to create a permanent exhibition of his art in various media at a fabulous new hotel the following year. Eponymously named Art’otel Budapest Donald Sultan, the artist was commissioned to design the hotel experience from the color palette, fountains, wall motifs, guest bathrobes, carpeting, as well as the hotel’s dishes and matchboxes, featuring art from his moody “Smoke Rings” series. “I thought everybody should have a sculpture in their room,” Sultan remembers, “and playful red carpeting with a needle-and-thread motif that supposedly hearkens back to Hungary’s history as a tapestry-making capital.”

Please enjoy our "Donald Sultan - Master of Mediums"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/donald-sultan-master-of-mediums/
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Image: Hungary, Budapest, Art’otel, hotel designed by artist Donald Sultan, restaurant

Pop Art ♥️

“They could see this might be a movement…why are all these people who don’t know each other doing similar things.” – Roy Lichtenstein

The Pop artists seized, ran and dominated the moment… from Andy Warhol’s legendary “Marilyn Monroe” series in 1962, to Lichtenstein’s “In The Car,” in 1963, Pop Art blazed upon the scene and nothing could extinguish its power…not even the critics who were constantly questioning its value as Art.

It was during this decade that Pop Art truly came into its own as an artistic movement, with exhibitions of Pop Art becoming more common and widespread critical acclaim starting to build. By the end of the 1960s, Pop Art had firmly established itself as a major force in the world of contemporary art.

If you’re interested in adding some Pop Art to your collection, there are many classic options; as well as incredible new artists working in this bold style today. From its origins in Britain and the US, to its current popularity around the world, Pop Art shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon!

Please enjoy our "Pop Art: A Brief History"⁠
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Link in Bio

Artwork: Roy Lichtenstein - N**e Reading

Keith Haring’s use of kinetic lines and brilliant colors creates energy and movement in all his work. Fusing vibrant art + unique iconography, Haring’s instantly recognizable visual style was born on the streets and subways of New York City. Andy Warhol and Keith Haring soon crossed paths, became friends as they both loved art and Walt Disney, created works featuring each other, and obviously loved each other’s work as they frequently traded artworks.

Keith Haring knew the power of Pop Art and he used his talent to bring art to the people. Haring’s paintings seem to animate themselves, like little short films of struggle and liberation. And he used his platform to create awareness around vital social issues, including the plight of child poverty, the need for AIDS research, and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Now more than ever, his timeless sensibility and vivid imagination resonate with art lovers all over the world.

Want to learn more about Pop Art? Please enjoy our "Pop Art: A Brief History"⁠

Link in Bio ✔️

Artwork: Keith Haring, Icons #1 Radiant Baby

Pop Art is one of the most interesting and unique movements in the world of art. This revolutionary artistic movement was characterized by its focus on bold colors, mass-produced items and popular culture icons. Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and other artists associated with Pop Art sought to challenge traditional ideas about what constituted “high art.” In a world where people are bombarded with images from every angle, it’s no wonder that Pop Art has become such a fixture in our lives.

The 1960s were a golden age for Pop Art. By the early 1960s, Pop Art had spread from Britain to America, where it would enjoy its greatest acclaim. It was during this decade that artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol started experimenting with techniques that would ultimately come to define the Pop Art movement.

Want to learn more about Pop Art? Please enjoy our "Pop Art: A Brief History"

Artwork: Andy Warhol: Mickey Mouse, II.265 from MYTHS

Although surrounded in his heyday by the glitterati + icons of the art world, Andy Warhol always considered himself a loner.

“As soon as I became a loner in my own mind, that’s when I got what you might call a “following.”… As soon as you stop wanting something you get it. I’ve found that to be absolutely axiomatic.”- Andy Warhol

Growing up, he was extremely shy with bad skin. Plagued by bullies and losing all his hair in his twenties, he instinctively knew that he needed to work with his eccentricities to not only create extraordinary art, but to recreate himself into something extraordinary. Hence the makeup, his inimitable style and his striking, obvious wigs. He used the camera as another tool to observe life from a distance. His films and art emanate a voyeuristic sensibility that again touches upon his essential loneliness, even at the height of his fame. The scintillating show he created around himself would always reveal the barren truth that there was a deep fear of true intimacy…a primal fear that haunts us all.

In a fascinating double portrait, Andy Warhol uses his own image as the legendary 1930's radio show crime fighter, "The Shadow"...a haunting image that depicts the mystery and duality of his inner and outer life.

In great art, there lies magic. Andy Warhol’s true genius was in revealing the extraordinary within the ordinary and holding it up for us all to rediscover within ourselves.

Artwork: Andy Warhol - Myths, The Shadow

https://henryonpopart.com/the-emotional-power-of-art/

Kusama + Infinity
Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan on March 22nd, 1929. Her merchant family owned a successful nursery and seed farm, but she quickly found her calling outside of the family business. She drew the plants around her, like the pumpkins that would later inspire her legendary series of sculptures.

At a young age, Kusama was already experiencing vivid hallucinations and her use of repetitive patterns and polka dots eventually served as inspiration for her art. She is also known for her Infinity Rooms, which are mirrored rooms filled with light and art objects. These rooms have become world-famous, and images of them have been shared endlessly on social media. Kusama has said that she uses art to manage her loneliness, and that she sees it as the antidote to her “illness.” She has said that her overwhelming need to reach into the concept of infinity is what drives her art. And indeed, her work often seems to be about seeking connection in a world that can feel isolating. Whether it’s through the sharing of images on social media or through the direct experience of her Infinity Rooms, Kusama’s art provides a way for us to connect with each other and with the infinite.

Please enjoy our "The Emotional Power of Art"

https://henryonpopart.com/the-emotional-power-of-art/

“Art can save us… Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful, make loneliness a shared experience and transform despair into hope. The magic of all art is the ability to both capture our pain and deliver us from it at the same time.” ~ Brené Brown

Art saves lives. That of the artist and that of the viewer. Art serves as a vital creative release for the artistic being whose need to create is as strong as the need to breathe. The viewer may feel deeply alone and misunderstood until they encounter a particular work of art that suddenly articulates the inarticulate… they feel Seen. And a little less alone. A work of art has healed a piece of their souls: the one who created it in the act of creation, and the one who experienced it and was forever touched or inspired by it.

What art moves you?

Surround yourself with art that inspires you. Explore the powerful art of the legendary artists on our website. At Henry on Pop Art…Art is our passion!

Please enjoy our latest

"The Emotional Power of Art"

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Never content to simply paint on canvas, Tom Wesselmann’s exploration of different mediums is what made his artwork successful. He was able to take advantage of new technology and apply it to his own artistic voice. By working with different materials, he was able to create abstract three-dimensional images that defied traditional norms. He instigated and invested in the development of a laser-cutting application, which would allow him to make a faithful translation of his drawings in cutout metal. This method would become one of his signature techniques. Tom Wesselmann’s work is still relevant today because it challenges audiences to think about art in a new way. His use of different mediums and technologies helped pioneer a new era of Pop Art.

If you’re a fan of Pop Art or Americana, then you’re sure to appreciate the work of Tom Wesselmann. From his early days drawing cartoons in the Army to his later work in collage and sculpture, Wesselmann was always pushing boundaries and expanding his horizons. Whether you’re a seasoned art collector or just beginning to build your collection, make sure to keep an eye out for works by this iconic artist.

Artwork: Steel Drawing: Rosemary Lying on One Elbow, Laser-cut steel with alkyd oil

Tom Wesselmann was an influential American artist in the Pop Art movement. His work explored the relationship between art and consumer culture, often using advertising images and found objects as his medium. He was influenced by many artists during that period but he had to come up with his own artistic voice. His exploration of mediums from lithography, textiles, found objects to porcelain and metal gave him the opportunity to express himself in a wide range of materials.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 23, 1931, he showed great interest in psychology in his early college days before being drafted. Fellow artists, Jim Dine and Roy Lichtenstein were also from the Buckeye State. Wesselmann got his start in art drawing cartoons while he was in the US Army. After his service, he was accepted at the prestigious Cooper Union in New York City where he began to experiment with different mediums. He initially sold cartoons to newspapers and magazines before eventually becoming recognized as a fine artist. He worked in bold lines and colors which led him to becoming interested in Pop Art after seeing Roy Lichtenstein’s work. He soon found success with his own renditions of Americana motifs incorporating flags, advertising, still lifes, seascapes and nudes.

Learn more about this exciting Pop Art artist in our latest "Tom Wesselmann: Still Lifes, Seascapes + N**es"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/tom-wesselmann-nudes-still-lifes-seascapes/


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After hearing about Tom Wesselmann’s collage work from legendary art curator Henry Geldzahler, artist Alex Katz visited his studio in NYC: “I went down to his studio and he had just started his “Great American N**e” series, which I thought were sensational. So I went to the Tanager Gallery, where I was a member, and they all thought it was terrific. We made him a member and he got a show. A lot of people disliked it and a lot of people were impressed. It was a violent first show. It was really quite terrific. And that was the beginning of Tom Wesselmann.”

The Sidney Janis Gallery held the very important “New Realists” exhibition in November 1962, which included Wesselmann’s work along with artwork by the great American artists Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, George Segal, and Andy Warhol, thus placing him solidly amidst this legendary group.

Learn more about this exciting Pop Art artist in our latest "Tom Wesselmann: Still Lifes, Seascapes + N**es"

https://henryonpopart.com/tom-wesselmann-nudes-still-lifes-seascapes/

Text has always been a powerful device. Artists who choose to utilize text to create a statement and evoke emotion understand their multi-level power. Letters, words, numbers are used in unique, evocative ways to command the attention and imagination of the viewer. Done effectively, they never lose their allure.

In his iconic painting “Whaam!,” and many of his famous kinetic images, American painter Roy Lichtenstein incorporated comic-style onomatopoeia into his vibrant art style to create works that were both visually arresting and emotionally provocative.

In 1960, while teaching at Rutgers University, Lichtenstein began to merge techniques, and in 1961 he created his first paintings in the pop style by blowing up frames from comic strips and recreating them with expressive text and alterations. The results were a success, and his first solo exhibition of this work was all purchased by collectors before it could even open.

How does Text in art affect you? Who's your favorite artist who uses text in their artwork?

Discover more about words in art in our latest "Text in Art - A Brief History"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/text-as-art-a-brief-history/
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Artwork: Roy Lichtenstein - Sweet Dreams, Baby!
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Artists work in all different mediums, from paint to metals, charcoal, stone, film…literally anything they can best use to express their ideas. Some artists choose to use words and text in their art…some for their visual shape and power, some to convey direct messages, some to provoke, to shock and some to keep the art lover guessing.

Artist Ed Ruscha had studied lettering, advertising and design and captured California cool with his iconic word paintings in which he expressed his love for “…the tension of words and images.” In 2019, Ruscha’s vivid work “Hurting the Word Radio #2” sold at Christie’s for a record $52M.

Discover more about words in art in our latest "Text in Art - A Brief History"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/text-as-art-a-brief-history/

Artwork: Ed Ruscha - Bliss Bucket
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Artists work in all different mediums, from paint to metals, charcoal, stone, film…literally anything they can best use to express their ideas. Some artists choose to use words and text in their art…some for their visual shape and power, some to convey direct messages, some to provoke, to shock and some to keep the art lover guessing.

Text has always been a powerful device. Artists who choose to utilize text to create a statement and evoke emotion understand their multi-level power. Letters, words, numbers are used in unique, evocative ways to command the attention and imagination of the viewer. Done effectively, they never lose their allure.

Both legendary artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol used words, pop cultural references and text, each in their own unique style, especially when they briefly collaborated together.

Looking at words in art oftentimes reveals the plasticity of language and meaning. Meaning often morphs along with the viewer's state of mind and changing experience. Have you ever looked at a work of art that didn't really have much impact at first viewing, then perhaps years later, upon re-encountering it, the artwork suddenly affects you on a much deeper emotional level...perhaps because you have changed.

Art is a living dialogue. Between the artist and the world.

Discover more about words in art in our latest "Text in Art - A Brief History"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/text-as-art-a-brief-history/
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Artwork: Jean-Michel Basquiat - Jawbone of an Ass
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Artist Jim Dine’s early experiments with printmaking continued throughout his career, and they took off in the 60s. He went on to produce thousands of fine art prints, many of which are held in major public and private collections.

It is with these prints and his paintings of the time that he started to find the motifs that would follow him throughout the rest of his career.

Dine frequently returns to a few core images, most famously the heart, but also Pinocchio, tools, bathrobes, antiques and sculpture.

“I never stopped being enchanted by these objects.” — Jim Dine

Though he returns to them always in new ways, they have provided the stability in his career that mediums could not. In a way, they ground him and provide something familiar for Dine and his audience to relate to when in new territory.

Discover more on artist Jim Dine in our latest "Jim Dine - The Experimentalist"⁠

https://henryonpopart.com/jim-dine-the-experimentalist/
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Artwork: Jim Dine - The Magnets

Jim Dine is an American artist who came to prominence in the 1960s. A key figure in the development of both pop art and conceptual art, Dine is perhaps best known for his bold and colorful paintings of everyday objects. However, he has also worked extensively with photography, printmaking, sculpture and poetry.

In 1963, Dine discovered an ad in The New York Times that featured a bathrobe floating in space. "Well, it somehow looked like me," Dine remembers thinking at the time, "and I thought I'd make that a symbol for me." That image would go on to become one of the most recognizable motifs and an important part of his artistic vocabulary. Jim Dine's Robes are featured in many important collections all over the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Discover more on artist Jim Dine in our latest "Jim Dine - The Experimentalist"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/jim-dine-the-experimentalist/
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Artwork: Jim Dine - Rosy Robe

Jim Dine - The Experimentalist

Many artists are happy becoming an important name in a single medium. Entire lives have been dedicated to the practice of one discipline — like painting or sculpture. But for other, more restless souls, an artistic life is about chasing down the next horizon, exploring new vistas and terrains for inspiration and expression.

Jim Dine is one of these restless explorers. For more than 60 years, his career never stayed in a single place for very long. He’s painted and sculpted, sure, but he’s also made prints, photographed, hosted happenings, made assemblages and written poetry.

In all that exploration, he helped contribute to and define many major movements in the art world — from Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Dada, to Pop Art and beyond…

It is an extraordinary career, one worth celebrating!

Discover more on artist Jim Dine in our latest "Jim Dine - The Experimentalist"⁠
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https://henryonpopart.com/jim-dine-the-experimentalist/

Artwork: Jim Dine - Aldo at Pere Lachaise