Joe Black

“If it’s small enough I’ll stick it down”

Sales / general enquires please contact art dealer Jean-David Malat JDMalat@operagallery.com

No More Heroes – Tryptic

Due to popular demand is a reworked version of the “No More Heroes” tryptic:

“Carry Your Own Sins Missy”, “Animal Farm” and “Eat My Lies”.

These are a super low edition of 7 each due to a lot of hand finishing which includes gold leaf, oil paint and pencil detailing.

The release date is Thursday 25th at 13.00 BST.

Purchase here

Produced using more than 5500 toy soldiers. The portrait is of a Chinese soldier boy taken by photographer Robert Capa. The image was used on the front cover of LIFE magazine, January 1938 to cover the Sino Japanese War. The toy soldiers are manufactured in China, hence the title “Made in China”.

Playing with Chuckie 01 / 02 / 03

A re-working of the iconic photorealistic self portrait done by the artist Chuck
Close in the 1960′s. A leading light of the photorealism school, he produced large scale portraiture paintings in his early career before developing the colour pixel portraiture we know today. In essence “Playing with Chuckie” is a playful homage to the artist himself.

The piece was produced in three different colour ways (see below)

Barry

The main image is originally a photo portrait done by artist Chuck Close (master of colour) and was titled “Barry”. The piece consists of 897 badges depicting off-beat portraits. Essentially it’s a portrait study within a portrait study.

Sleeper

Consists of 1208 handmade badges depicting erotic and ethereal images. Using oil pastels, acrylic paint with penciling and airbrushing to finish the piece. Oh and Gold leaf.

(size 95cm x 130 cm).

(Self) portrait

… made with 6972 spray painted Lego pieces and finished with acrylic paint
(Size 94cm x 120cm)

Despite the title, this work represents Everychild and plays with the infinite futures that seem open to us as children. The use of lego creates a sense of nostalgia and echoes the sense of play and fun central to the image itself.

Sexual Verkäufe

1208 handmade badges depicting erotic images, Nazi Germany and iconic Britain. Oil and acrylic paint with aerosol finishing.
(size 95 x 130 cm)

Featuring Kate Moss donning a hybrid of German & British war symbolism. “Verkäufe” is German for ‘sales’ and the work hints at an ever growing trend towards outlandish shock tactics in order to sell a product. In essence the work hints at the increasing relationship between war and profit.

Carry Your Own Sins Missy

1478 handmade badges of collected imagery, from Elvis and Disney cartoons to the Vietnam War. The iconic image of Captain America encapsulates the idea of America as the hero nation. However, within the image we glimpse the conflicts and contradictions of the all American dream.

Animal Farm

… consists of 1,389 badges of Western cultural imagery interspersed with corporate logos, fast food and obesity.

The piece focuses on the supersized culture of modern society and our relentless greed for wanting bigger and better.

Superman embodies notions of goodness, physical beauty and power. The defacing of the image of superman questions the desires and aspirations that drive us all to believe that mass consumption will make us better human beings, leading fulfilled lives. Does ‘super’ necessarily mean good?