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Mr. Brainwash (French, b.1966)
LOT ID: 76707
Two's Company, 2008

Serigraph / Screenprint
30 х 22 in. (76.2 x 55.88 cm.)
Signed, lower right; numbered, lower left. Mr. Brainwash's thumbprint, signature and year, 08, on verso.
Edition 6/7
Lot description
"Two's Company" by Mr. Brainwash is an extremely rare seven-color screen print on textured archival art paper, featuring an image of Miles Davis in the style of Mr. Brainwash's 2008 bar code series of paintings. The bar code series bridges the categories of Op, Pop, and appropriation art. The stenciling distorts our visual perception of the image, and although only "half" the painting is effectively there, the viewer is able to visualize the complete painting. In addition, the bar code numbers are subversive code language for a statement that can only be translated by the artist. By doing so the artist reveals but also hides the painting from the viewer, questioning how much of what we classify as art can be determined solely by the visual field.

Mr. Brainwash (a.k.a. MBW; b. Thierry Guetta) is one of California’s most prolific street artists. Originally an eccentric French videographer, Mr. Brainwash began his career in 1999 documenting the lives and work of various street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey. Shortly after his initial introduction to Banksy, Mr. Brainwash made the decision to transition between voyeur of the arts to practical artist. Mr. Brainwash’s uniformly subversive style fuses historic pop imagery and contemporary cultural iconography to create his own Pop art/graffiti hybrid. The development of this style has catapulted the street artist to international stardom. Mr. Brainwash’s first solo show, “Life is Beautiful,” was held in LA in June 2008; the exhibition featured over 100 works in a 15,000 square-foot TV studio. Since then, Mr. Brainwash has collaborated with Madonna on her greatest hits album cover as well as with numerous other street artists on the development of the street art film “Exit through the Gift Shop." Mr. Brainwash currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
  • Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
  • Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
  • Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
  • Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
  • Two's Company by Mr. Brainwash
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  • Mr. Brainwash

    Disorder
    prints, serigraph / screenprint
    (H 30, W 22) in.
    (76.2 x 55.9) cm.
    Ed. 20
    Sold for: US$4,025 €
    Monday, January 30, 2012
    artnet Auctions
    Lot 60425

  • Mr. Brainwash

    Michael Jackson
    screenprint on paper
    (H 30, W 22.0) in.
    (76.2 x 55.9) cm.
    Ed. ed.15
    Sold for: US$3,750 €
    Tuesday, March 08, 2011
    Phillips de Pury & Company New York
    Lot 00234

  • Mr. Brainwash

    Montana paintball
    prints, serigraph / screenprint
    (H 38, W 50) in.
    (96.5 x 127.0) cm.
    Ed. 9
    Sold for: US$5,750 €
    Tuesday, February 01, 2011
    artnet Auctions
    Lot 40941

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