Portfolio assignment 1, task 2
by hoppeloppe 123
Pushwagner was one of the most important and influential figures of contemporary art in Norway and was (still is) one of the most well-known painters in the world. His original name is Terje Brofos, he was born in Oslo in 1940 and died in 2018. In 2017 Pushwagners artwork “Vertigo 23” was sold at an art exhibition in Bergen. It was sold for 1.300.000kr. This was the most expensive painting Pushwagner ever sold. Pushwagner is well-known for his pop art, graphic and colourful lithography which often is exaggerated and detailed. I love the way he is using his creativity and colours in his paintings.
For the past few years, the value at Pushwagners artwork has increased considerably. Of everything that has been sold, “Vertigo 23” is the most expensive artwork from Pushwagner that has ever been sold. The painting is illustrating skyscrapers from Manhattan in New York. People think that it is Pushwagner himself in the windows in all the skyscrapers. When he was four years old, he got hit by a bus and had to spend time with his father in their apartment. He used to watch all the kids outside play through the window, and that it was because of this and at this time he learned to draw/paint. That´s the reason why the public thought that Pushwagner sat by the window.
In this article, Gallery Fineart is telling us that Pushwagner clearly is the bestselling artist they´ve ever worked with for the last ten years. It´s a huge gap and difference from Pushwagner and number two at this list. He is defined as an artist because of his time used on artistic work, income earned from artistic work and artist recognition. In the 1970´s Pushwagner lived on the streets in London and had to sell his paintings for money to survive. When he came back to Norway at the end of the 90´s, he had to live as a homeless man. By living like this, Pushwagner went from being in the commercial art market to be a part of the avant-garde art market. Therefore, I would say that Pushwagner is a part of the exclusive circuit.
There are different types of art buyers in the world. We can place Pushwagner´s artwork in category “home collectors” where the buyers buy art regularly and display it in their homes. They typically buy the art from dealers, galleries, art fairs and directly from the artist. We can also place it in the category “Interior designers”, as some of Pushwagners artwork has been used as art on large walls in Oslo. I think it´s hard to place him in just one category, but I think his art is mainly connected to “home collectors”.
I think Pushwagner did a good job when he started selling his art on the street and ended up with getting lots of money for his work. He made a whole new life for himself.
Source:
Making sense of art and design industries 