Steve Martin

Coloured pencil and ink on the "Gallery Weekend Berlin 2014"  participant gallery press releases. 2014. 21 x 29,7 cms. Signed. €250.00 plus shipping.

Drawing a celebrity in a press release is a visual statement on desire, a manifestation on what Larry Z. Leslie calls the “Celebrity Endorsement”. It is a double lecture that is seen from the perspective of the artist and the gallery owner; both of them want to advertise their own name under the sponsorship of relevant people. Some artists want to be represented by the best galleries and some galleries want to sell to the most representative clients. “In addition to being well known and famous, celebrities are attractive, likeable and trustworthy – at least in the minds of the public to whom the advertising message is directed”. (1) An artist being represented by a gallery brings confidence to the collector and a gallery that sells art to a celebrity collector brings security to the market.

(1) Larry Z Leslie. Celebrity in the 21st Century: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues). Edition. ABC-CLIO. 2011 (p 2)(p23) (p 45)