Want a Basquiat but can’t afford an painting or work on paper? Ron Kosa is selling copies of albums whose cover art Basquiat designed:
Our Basquiat beat bop will run in the neighborhood of $1,750 for the 1984 pressing. With the 2001 limited edition re-issue of 500 pressings priced at $650. Basquiat’s other notable cover The Off’s is likewise avail along with a rotating exhibit of original Andy Warhol & Damien Hirst covers.
Here’s the press release explaining the exhibition:
Collector, art enthusiast and private dealer Ron Kosa presents LOT 180 – a carefully curated exhibition and sale, featuring an exciting compilation of rare and unseen Vintage Art, Signed Limited Edition Photographs, Vinyl Art, Poster Art and Ephemera that focus on mid-1970s and early 1980s New York City and capture the creative whirlwind which so radically influenced the face of American art and culture.
The six-week long exhibition features remarkable imagery by a line-up of artists whose collective archives immortalize the cultural and social landscape of New York City during the period which so highly influenced the popular culture movement.
Highlights of the exhibition include selections from:
Robert Herman’s stunning portfolio of photography, which captured “the color and movements of daily life on the streets of New York City”. His monograph “The New Yorkers”, prominently featured at the International Center of Photography has been described as an “astounding collection of photographs of New York City, shot between 1978-2005 on Kodachrome. The book immortalizes the transformation of Soho, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. These photos tell an authentic story of New York City: real New Yorkers living and working in their own neighborhoods”. Herman’s body of work represents a notable cache of street photography as well as visual commentary on New Yorkers everyday life during the period;
Alex Harsley’s rich, historic archives. Whitney Biennial exhibited visual artist and New York Times featured photographer, Alex Harsley’s interest in life on New York City streets resulted in an extraordinarg time capsule of a city in flux. His discerning eye produced shots of life in Harlem in the 1950s to velvety black-and-white images of downtown, late at night and silent, under snow in the 1990s. It is said that Harsley’s graceful portraits of a young Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane and Jean-Michel Basquiat adds to a body of work that will continue to grow in historical significance. In 1971, Harsley founded Minority Photographers, Inc. to mentor and support aspiring and professional artists, including some of today’s most celebrated photographers;
Fernando Natalici’s iconic photography of the East Village art scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s includes sought after images of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Keith Haring, Blondie, The Ramones and more. In 1976 and 1977 Natalici was hired as Art Director and Still photographer of Amos Poe’s two seminal, underground Manhattan art films, “Unmade Beds” & “The Foreigner; and
Leni Sinclair of MC5 fame, whose portfolio of of vintage photography documents Detroit’s counter-cultural movement and the City’s important place in Rock history. Sinclair’s works have appeared in countless newspapers, magazines, books, LP and CD covers over the years. The exhibition will also feature: Prints from designer Mike Joyce’s critically acclaimed series Swissted.
LOT 180 launches in New York City at 52 Kenmare Street on Thursday July 24 at 6:30 p.m. and runs through September 1st. Visit a preview of the exhibition at www.LOT180.com; Instagram @LOT180; Twitter @LOT180 and Facebook.
