Mark Kostabi graafikanäitus

“With this print exhibition, I am happily returning to Estonia, where I made my debut over 30 years ago. When I was in the beautiful restaurant of Hotel Victoria about a year ago, I immediately dreamed of holding an exhibition there. And when I saw their piano, I felt truly at home and wanted to perform there as part of the exhibition, continuing my display last summer at the nearby Pärnu Museum of New Art. This time I am sharing my passion for the printmaking process, which allows me to share my universal language of faceless figures with a much larger audience.” – Mark Kostabi   Mark Kostabi (1960) was born in Los Angeles, California, to Estonian parents. In 1982 he moved to New York and soon became a prominent figure in the East Village art scene, socializing with icons such as Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat.   Kostabi is best known for his paintings of universal faceless figures, which often reflect contemporary political, social, and psychological issues, and for creating Kostabi World—his controversial studio, known for employing many assistants.   Kostabi’s artworks are currently held in more than 60 permanent museum collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, and KUMU in Tallinn.   Kostabi has also designed album covers for Guns N' Roses (Use Your Illusion), The Ramones (¡Adios Amigos!), and several others.   His many collectors range from Bill Clinton to Luciano Pavarotti, and include celebrities such as Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega, Brooke Shields, Axl Rose, Debbie Harry, Billy Wilder, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Gates, Aaron Spelling, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many others.   His life and work have been featured in numerous magazines and television programs.   Kostabi is also a successful musician and has performed his musical works both as a soloist and with other musicians, including Ornette Coleman, Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Stefano di Battista, Gene Pritsker, Mark Egan, Lukas Ligeti, Dave Taylor, Chris Parker, Tony Esposito, Salvatore Flauto, Tommy Campbell, Gerry Brown, Lara St. John, John Clark, Greesi Desiree Langovits, Adam Holzman, Aaron Comess, John Lee, and Paul Kostabi. His works have also been performed independently by Kathleen Supové, Rein Rannap, Kristjan Järvi, Mark Berman, Michael Wolff, Marko Martin, Kai Schumacher, and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.   The exhibition is curated by Greesi Desiree Langovits.