Sebastian Black

BornNationalityBased In

1985AmericanLos Angeles, New York City

Biography

Sebastian Black is a painter and sculptor who depicts colourful, fragmented and multi-layered forms that confuse the delineation between abstraction and representation. Black’s paintings are playful, satirising the art world, the stereotypically sombre eye of the critic, and the outlandish speculations made by viewers when trying to determine the meaning of an artwork. An ode to the cubism of the early 20th century, Black’s works are like the Rorschach test; some portray drooping dog’s faces that also appear like female forms if viewed in a different way. Black seeks to unpick and reimagine the notion of abstraction in order to manipulate the viewer’s relationship, both with his works and with their own perceptions. Written by Goldsmiths CCA ...

Selected Artworks

Sebastian BlackB (muzzle) U (ear) ren, M(nose)o(eye)sset, Parmenti(pupil)er, Toro(eye)ni(pupil).“No gestures!” (Whiskers) Said the guys, slashing the air.“New gestures!” that is. All very French. On a related note: When I tap U (ear) my phone suggests I. Is that a thought or its obviation?, 2016152.4 x 114.3cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackLoanzy Dip, 201550.8 x 40.6cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackPink Deposit, 201570 x 65cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackThank you. Thank you. Now I would like to talk about how the Bush administration covered up the tapestry of Guernica by the entrance to the U.N. Security Council with some blue curtains [ears] so that those poor ladies wouldn’t have to watch Colin Powell’s W.[mouth] M.[eyes] D.[nose] slideshow. Nelson Rockefeller commissioned that tapestry and gave it to the U.N. to promote peace on earth. What would he say about such hijinks? He who had Lenin sandblasted [whiskers] off his Diego Rivera mural might have offered valuable insight! Oh those poor Guernican gals! With their hands like baseball mitts and their ears like clam fritters, [muzzle] forced to listen while Secretary Powell made his terrible case. I hope they find peace and quiet. Once in Italy I saw a painting of a damsel. She had a an ivory bosom and dimples [pupils] where her knuckles should have been. She was in the middle of a gilt frame in the middle of a great hall [muzzle, head] where nobody was saying anything. I hope they find peace like that, 2018152.4 x 114.3cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackSecond to last supper, 202040.64 x 60.96cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackYellow gesture, 202191.44 x 68.58cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackIndia by the Pool, 2020213.36 x 160.02cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackGrant's Pool, 2020121.92 x 91.44cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackThe Midwife, 202168.6 x 92.7cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackSelf-Portrait As A Good Boy 6, 202068 x 68cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackPeriod piece, 201561 x 46cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackBercy Embankment, 201576.2 x 73.6 x 152cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackBank Desk Embankment, 2015116.8 x 73.6 x 116.8cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackThe job of us artists is to draw new lines. All the old lines are straight [whiskers], even the curvy ones and us artists gotta draw new ones. Us American artists, we thought the road was really something. For a hundred years we poked at its vanishing point [mouth] with our thoughts. Like sea lions we thought we could balance our dreams on its pointed tip [nose]. Like sea lions we were wrong! Us artists need to learn more from the Parisian Communards who barricaded the streets but pierced the houses [eyes, pupils] and flowed thataway. They “found flowers [muzzle] which are chairs” said Rimbaud confusingly. Oh artists! We are the Most Influential Artist’s of, 2018152.4 x 114.3cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackThere were six long art students, thin like spaghetti, standing around the nude model [whiskers]. The model posed with her head thrust forward and her fingers locked together behind her back [nose, mouth]. Her stage was a little round platform with a blanket thrown over it [muzzle]. The art students looked up at her and one by one broke their vine charcoal into two pieces [pupils]. They rubbed the black sticks onto pads of newsprint until the shape of the powder that crumbled off resembled the shape of the model. Meanwhile, the teacher sat by the window and fiddled with a paint flecked oval boombox [head]. He carried it around the room like a thurifer, trailing plumes of static. He waved it about, and pushed its antennae this way and that [ears] until, finally, it shouted “Autozone!”, 2018152.4 x 114.3cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackGrant's Pool, 2020122 x 91.4cmPrice on Request

Sebastian BlackI’m not a fan of the word bitter when it’s used to describe cold. I feel like bitter is too nuanced, suggests too many of the experiential layers that cold weather so often levels. Nor do I think sour would be better suited, 2017152.5 x 114cmPrice on Request