Picture "Astronaut" (2019), exclusive edition for ARTES
Picture "Astronaut" (2019), exclusive edition for ARTES
Quick info
limited, 35 copies | numbered | signed | colour screenprint on handmade paper | unframed | size 77.5 x 57 cm
Detailed description
Picture "Astronaut" (2019), exclusive edition for ARTES
In 2007, as part of the Backjumps exhibition, Victor Ash painted the now iconic mural "Astronaut Cosmonaut" on a building facade in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, directly beside the route of underground line 1, at Kottbusser Tor. The motif depicts a floating astronaut and covers an area of 22 x 14 metres. He painted the motif with black paint, with some of the paint running down the wall.
Ash uses the spaceman as a symbol of the Cold War and the race into space between the former Soviet Union and the United States. In this way, he establishes a connection between the artwork and the Berlin Wall that used to run near it. That is also what the name of the artwork, "Astronaut Cosmonaut", refers to. The term "astronaut" became NASA's official designation for a space traveller in 1958, whereas Soviet space programmes used the "cosmonaut". The mural quickly became a Kreuzberg attraction and is now an integral part of the district's cityscape.
The mural inspired singer Mark Owen to create his video for the song "Stars", in which Owen runs through Berlin as an astronaut.
The edition offered here was created in an exclusive collaboration with Kunsthaus ARTES. Each copy is printed with mother-of-pearl pigments on especially heavy handmade paper.
Original colour screenprint with mother-of-pearl pigments, handmade paper, 2019. Edition: 35 copies on handmade paper, numbered and signed. Unframed. Motif size/sheet size 77.5 x 57 cm.
About Victor Ash
Victor Ash is one of the pioneers of the French graffiti and street art scene. Born in Portugal and raised in Paris, Ash was a member of the legendary Parisian graffiti crew BBC from the early 1980s and worked with Bando, Mode2 and JonOne, among others, who were also great pioneers of street art in Europe.
Today, Ash is famous for his black and white murals, in which he visualises themes of history and current society in symbolic representations. His best-known work is probably the mural "Astronaut Cosmonaut" from 2007 in Berlin Kreuzberg, which was created on the occasion of the Backjumps Festival, curated by Adrian Nabi. Victor Ash lives and works in Copenhagen.
The field of graphic arts, that includes artistic representations, which are reproduced by various printing techniques.
Printmaking techniques include woodcuts, copperplate engraving, etching, lithography, serigraphy.