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630139

Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF MAGRITTE' Canvas

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:240.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 760.00 USD
Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF MAGRITTE' Canvas
Artist: Markus PiersonTitle: Coyote Portrait of MagritteMedium: Canvas SerigraphOrientation: verticalImage Size: 10 x 11.5 inchesPaper Size: 10 x 11.5 inchesEdition Size: 175: Signed by the artist, individually numbered, accompanied by certificate of authenticity signed by the publisher.Excerpts from his book, But I Digress, A Coyote's View of Art History * * RENE MAGRITTE * * My deadline for the book approaching like the Starship Enterprise approaches Klingon territory at full warp drive with fresh dylithium crystals, I sit at my writer's desk, hopped up on antihistamines, buried in art books, and Magritte's biographer tells me, by way of written word, "Anti-Painting is equivalent to anti-art, or at the very least, to a reintegration of industrial production and its sociological effects into artistic endeavor." What? Excuse me, what? The guy is nuts! I've read that sentence fifty times – it still evades me. I think the guy has no interest in informing his readers. He has no respect for words other than to use them as a way of sounding smarter and more enlightened than other authors. Which brings me to Magritte and his particular brand of Surrealism. * * Surrealism is the painted version of that sentence I read to you. It was done mostly by artists wishing not to inform, but instead to seem smarter and more enlightened than other artists. Dali is a perfect example. * * Pity the poor fool who would claim to fully understand Dali's work while Dali was within earshot. He wasn't amused by people thinking they were his equals. Now give the guy his due: he was a genius after all. But look at Magritte and what you see is a blue-collar, down to earth, nice guy, everyday Joe Surrealist. * * Magritte didn't claim to be a genius. Or a master. In fact, he didn't even claim to be a gifted painter. He didn't make impossible images, he made improbable ones. Unlike most Surrealist art, a great number of Magritte's paintings depict scenes which could actually happen, things which could actually be. * * I like a good, snappy wit. Magritte's work has wit all over it. When it isn't obvious in the painting, it's there in the title. He did a big painting of a pipe. The title? This Is Not a Pipe. He did a portrait of himself painting a bird. His reference? An egg. This guy must have been a world-class dinner guest, just a hoot to have around. Maybe not, though – artists can get testy. Most times artists get testy when they are out somewhere far from art supplies and they get a good idea. They wish they were working right that minute and since they can't, they fidget and mumble and sometimes their wife, Sheryl, has to ask them the same question five times and kick them in the shin under the table, which just makes them fuss all the more. But I digress. * * Magritte was a wickedly fast painter, a "one-a-dayer" as we in the trade like to say. They don't look near as good as a Dali close-up, but who cares. He was from Belgium, which as we all know is also the country that gave us five-time world champion motocross racer Roger DeCoster – the best ever. Magritte joined and un-joined the Communist Party (now there's a witty bunch) many times, dabbled in filmmaking, wrote some, blah, blah, blah. That's not important. Take a good hard look at Magritte's paintings and what you hear is a guy whispering, "Hey pal, anything can happen." Read that last sentence again – it's almost surreal. * Biography * * Markus Pierson was born in 1961 and raised in the small farming town of Grand Ledge, Michigan, where his father owned a popular restaurant. A self-proclaimed reckless "racer", Markus was the youngest and most challenging of the four Pierson children. * * While a student, an encouraging art teacher swung wide the door to Markus' talent and profoundly moved him. However, the Grand Ledge art scene was somewhat lacking, leading Markus to take on a number of odd jobs before accidentally stumbling upon accounting as a means to making a living. After a near-fatal bout with Crohn's Disease in early 1985, he declared that the accountant was "dead" and in his place was a man pursuing his dream of becoming a successful artist. * * The Coyote Series was born in June of 1986, after Markus heard the Joni Mitchell song, "Coyote." He loved it, played it often and memorized the words. The focus of the song, a guy referred to as "Coyote," is a reckless, footloose Casanova type fellow - Pierson aspired to be the carefree romancer described in those lyrics. Then he did something he'd never done before or since: Markus made a drawing of a song. * * Over the next six months Markus painted billboards by day for a living and drew his Coyotes into the night. To the wall above his desk he taped these words, "No one works this hard and this smart - and has it come to nothing." Within a year, he walked out of Artexpo in New York City with commitments from 110 art galleries who sought to represent his work. * * In the decades that followed, Pierson's work has evolved to include a vast array of paintings, drawings, sculpture, hand-pulled serigraphs and original found-object works. Over time, the metaphor of the Coyote has taken on a more poignant and profound purpose. At its essence, the work urges us to pursue our dreams, wear our hearts on our sleeves, and to celebrate all of life's ups and downs. He has had nearly one hundred solo exhibitions in galleries across America, Australia and New Zealand, while also being featured at various prestigious international fairs including Art Miami, Artexpo New York, Sofa Chicago, Chicago Contemporary & Classic, and palmbeach3. Markus has amassed a collector base which includes Heads of State, major corporations and celebrities worldwide. * * Markus' wife and muse is artist, Sheryl Pierson. The two live and work in a converted loft in Kansas City, Missouri. * * "There's no doubt in my mind that my success has more to do with luck than talent, more to do with stubbornness than vision, more to do with ignorance than insight, but the fact remains that I pursued my dream and attained it against staggering odds. I say this now to anyone who will listen: even if I had failed, it would have been worth it. Better to face a brutal truth than to grow old wondering what might have been. " Markus Pierson *
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