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820178

Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF MATISSE' Canvas

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 760.00 USD
Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF MATISSE' Canvas
Artist: Markus PiersonTitle: Coyote Portrait of MatisseMedium: 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 * * HENRI MATISSE * * Before I say what I have to say here, let me state that I just love Henri Matisse. Okay? Okay. Now here it goes: Henri Matisse got by on his looks. There, I said it. Yes, he got by on his looks, and I say this because Matisse looked and dressed like a Cambridge Professor, but his artwork was, well, zippy. Follow me a minute. Let's say you took Henri Matisse's work, put it in a satchel and had a struggling, part-time soap opera actress carry it into the Guggenheim pretending to be its creator. They'd laugh her out of the building! You know they would! They'd say, "It's too flat, too unfocused, too scattered, too . . . zippy." But Henri? "Oh my yes, a man like this must be taken seriously. Why, just look at him. I bet his beard has more brain cells than my whole head. Why yes, of course I'll install his artwork in my museum. Never before has such an intellectual giant been so . . . 'childlike' in his approach. Pure genius. And that suit! I'm certain tweed has never before felt so fulfilled, so honored, as to be encircling his girth." * * Matisse was Fauve, which is French for "wild beast." Yes, his fur-covered body appearing yellow-orange in the moonlight, a blood-covered, four-inch fang extruding from his lips, his murderous rampage sent towns across France into sheer panic . . . no. No, no. Art critics have their own notions about what constitutes a wild beast, and they were simply referring to his bold use of color. Neat name though, huh? Imagine someone asking, "So, what do you do for a living?" and you respond, "Me? Well, I used to be a Post-Impressionist, but now I'm a wild beast!" But I digress. * * Here's what makes Matisse's work cool. Matisse was not into foreground and background – he was into color. He'd paint pure color wherever he saw it in whatever order, and let the viewer figure out what's what. His paintings vibrate with color so much they almost make a humming sound, and his optimistic point of view about nature and beauty serve well as a soothing pool in an otherwise turbulent tide of art produced during the early 1900s. Further, the simple cutouts he produced late in life, at a time when crippling arthritis prevented him from even simple movements, demonstrate perfectly how some can create so much with so little. Bravo, Henri, bravo! * * Yes, Matisse's coolness knows no bounds, but beware, fellow artists: don't try this at home. Fauvism may get a Cambridge-appearing man through the door, but a normal schmoe will more likely get a swollen nose – Slam! Better luck elsewhere. * 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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