Sebastian Bieniek - Facination No. 31 (unique)

Upon purchase, you will receive a certificate of authenticity issued in your name

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THE ARTWORK:

FRAMED (in a solid wood frame and with a mat):

Size including frame: 26.5 x 20.5 x 2.7 cm.

For sale is a portrait photograph overpainted by the artist Sebastian Bieniek in 2014, which is part of his “Facination Series,” consisting exclusively of overpainted paintings and photographs.

The original photograph is an old original photo, probably taken before World War II.

Hand-signed on the front of the mat and on the back (on the photograph and frame). Titled and stamped on the front and back.



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ABOUT THE SERIES:

The “Facination” series by Berlin-based artist Sebastian Bieniek alludes to ideas of guardian angels and fate in connection with the tragic lot of humanity. It seeks to create a window between two worlds, such as “here and there” or “now and then,” and to bring them together in the form of a person.

For the artist, the “self” thus exists on two levels: a realistic one and a meta-level, linked to ideas of guardian angels and fate—and, more broadly, to the world itself.

The work thus draws on the ancient, universal concept of a world divided into two parts—for example, the distinction between “ancestors and the living,” “humans and gods,” or even “software and hardware,” which ultimately amounts to a division between “idea and body,” or “command and action.”

In his work, Bieniek seeks a visible form for both—and thus for the whole.


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THE ARTIST:

Artist Sebastian Bieniek was born in Poland in 1975. He studied art at HbK Braunschweig and UdK Berlin with Marina Abramovic, John M. Armleder, and Katharina Sieverding, and from 1998 to 2000 was a member of the then-renowned “Kunsthaus Tacheles” in Berlin, known as the “artistic center of the city,” where he shared a studio with artist Chiharu Shiota.

During this period, Bieniek became known for his dramatic performances and conceptual art. He later studied film directing and made films. From 2008 onward, he returned to painting, and by 2013 at the latest, he had become internationally renowned for his paintings and photographs featuring ambiguous statements and imagery.

From 2013 onward, his works went viral worldwide several times, were featured and published on television and in the world’s largest and most important magazines, and achieved not only wide circulation and recognition, but also made an impact on the music and even fashion scenes.

For example, in 2014, American musician Pharrell Williams featured a work by Bieniek several times in his hit video “Marylin Monroe,” and even singer Madonna contacted Bieniek in 2016 (article in Vogue Spain), asking him to design the cover for her “X-Album.” In 2015, French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus had his models walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week with faces personally painted by Bieniek, and went on to win the prestigious LVMH Special Jury Prize. In 2015, Sebastian Bieniek was named one of the “Top 5 Influential Contemporary Berlin-Based Artists” by The Culture Trip Magazine.

After 2019, Bieniek created primarily conceptual works critical of social media and the state, often built around humorous and ironic ideas. In this way, he remained true to his long-standing subversive approach and definition of art, never allowing himself to be co-opted or used.