Mark Kostabi Graphic Art Exhibition

“With this graphic art exhibition, I am happily returning to Estonia, where I made my debut more than 30 years ago. When I was in the beautiful restaurant of Hotel “Victoria” about a year ago, I immediately dreamed of being able to hold an exhibition there. And when I saw their piano, I truly felt at home and wanted to perform there as part of the exhibition, continuing from my exhibition last summer at the nearby Pärnu Museum of New Art. This time, I am sharing my passion for the graphic art 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 on the East Village art scene, associating 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 numerous 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 Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, 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 collectors include Bill Clinton and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as 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 own compositions 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.