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820064

Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF VAN GOGH' Paper

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 610.00 USD
Markus Pierson 'COYOTE PORTRAIT OF VAN GOGH' Paper
Artist: Markus PiersonTitle: Coyote Portrait of Van GoghMedium: Serigraph on PaperOrientation: verticalImage Size: 10 x 11.5 inchesPaper Size: 17 x 18 inchesEdition Size: 175: Hand-deckled edges, 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 * * VINCENT VAN GOGH * * Ahhhh, Vincent . . . You know, I should just stop right there, let the work do the talking, something I'm sure Vincent would have much preferred. He once said that he loved the notion that paintings don't need words, that they stand on their own merits. Modern art critics get real prickly when they hear stuff like that. After all, they have limos to pay for and suites at the Chateau Marmont to rent – just like any other Joe. Why, if not for them, people might think my work is good and Jackson Pollock is a hack, and we can't have that. Many misconceptions about Vincent persist, despite the ungodly amount of literature generated about him and the voluminous stack of letters about his paintings he sent to his dear brother, Theo. Theo is responsible for much of Vincent's perseverance, much the way my brother, Pat, is responsible for mine. He liked my work when few did. What a gem of a guy. But I digress. * * Let's keep it simple. Vincent was Dutch, born in 1853, his complexion as pasty as mine pre-bologna sandwich (see Botticelli) and it stayed that way. More sensitive than a nitro-burning seismograph made of Balsa wood and feathers, Vincent made his way through his childhood like a naked shepherd at a porcupine farm – very cautiously. Uncertain about himself in every way and yet somehow arrogant, Vincent got a job at an art dealer's place, where he eventually pissed off everyone and they booted him. He then gave in to the call of the Lord and became a preacher. He went to minister to the most wretched, destitute folks he could find, but like a tennis player playing lesser talent, soon he found himself as wretched as they. He got booted from the Lord's work, too. * * In 1880 Vincent Van Gogh decided to become an artist, and until his death in 1890 at age thirty-seven, he created the most compelling, brilliant, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping body of work ever. He was utterly driven to paint, sometimes completing two canvases in a single day. Masterpieces. Holy mackerel. His life continued to be traumatic, however – he fell in love with his cousin, but was scorned, intimately involved himself with various brothel types, got in a nasty scrape with Gauguin one night and cut off part of his own ear. He ate paint chips loaded with toxins and poured turpentine on his pillow to sleep. He often stared directly into the sun for long periods of time. He ran absolutely no risk of being appointed Director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Finally, he bought a gun and shot himself. * * People ask me, "Why? What makes Vinnie such a Top Dog?" I say this: every serious painter, sooner or later, goes out on a ledge and finds it uncomfortable. It's too risky, too scary, they're too exposed out there. Not Vincent. He went there and never came back. He lived there, he thrived there, he danced there, he died there. That's the difference between him and most everyone else – Vincent knew painting would not be good for him, so he ran after it hungrily and let it devour him. I can only stand back and look at him in wide-eyed wonder. In his life he sold only one painting. In a way that is just so, so perfect. Ahhhh, Vincent. * 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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