Steve Jobs Portrait Sells for $210,000
Installation "Steve Jobs. Viewpoint of Millions" Became a Top Sale at Scope Miami
A portrait of Steve, Jobs created by an American artist David Datuna, has sold for $210,000 USD during an international art fair called Scope Miami that took place from November 29 - December 4, 2011. The installation by David Datuna became one of the most expensive works sold at the art fair this year.
The latest project in the artist's "Viewpoint of Millions" series was presented in Miami by Mironova International Art Group (London-Kiev) in cooperation with KIWI Arts Group (USA) and Global Art Group (USA).
Earlier this year, a portrait of Vladimir Putin titled "Putin – Mona Lisa" created by David Datuna was bought at a closed auction by a renowned Russian businessman for €200,000 euro during the international Art Moscow fair which took place in September.
Nic Iljine, Director of Corporate Development in Guggenheim Museum said, "David Datuna's rendering of the great visionary Steve Jobs, created before the Apple co-founder recently passed away, is both moving and intelligently composed as well as being straight to the point. I would place this work by Datuna right at the front entrance of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino!"
Tatiana Mironova, gallerist said, "We certainly anticipated that the latest work by David Datuna will be of great interest to collectors and connoisseurs of contemporary art. David Datuna is an artist of great potential and his every new project reveals a new facet of his unique talent. Pioneering style of Datuna's art work is setting new trends in contemporary art."
The installation "Steve Jobs – Ayn Rand" envisaged and created by David Datuna in collaboration with a Chinese-American artist Alex Gufeng Chao belongs to a series of portraits depicting key personalities of the present day. The work features a unique technique perfected by the artist which uses a layer of optical lenses superimposed over a collage of recurring shaded portraits.
Under a cascading wall of approximately one thousand optical lenses, countless miniature portraits of Ayn Rand, an internationally renowned philosopher and the architect of the Objectivism philosophical system, are combined to produce a compelling depiction of Steve Jobs. Atlas Shrugged, Rand's best-selling magnum opus which advocates the core tenets of her philosophy and focuses on the concept of human achievement cherished by the modern capitalist society, was one of key literary works from which Steve Jobs drew inspiration during his life. By combining the two personalities of great stature and undoubtedly influence, Datuna's installation draws parallels between Ayn Rand and Steve Jobs while highlighting at times contradictory attitudes toward their respective work and accomplishments.
Through his latest artwork David Datuna attempts to assess the role of Steve Jobs' personality and his impact on contemporary world. Despite armies of loyal fans around the globe, many consider Jobs and his 'empire' an embodiment of corporate evil that has befallen the modern society. Such polarity of viewpoints is conveyed by the author through the combined use of positive and negative optical lenses. The artist avoids casting judgment on Steve Jobs and his personality. By only using the penetrating gaze of the subject of his artwork, Datuna tries to get to the very soul of Steve Jobs and reveal his motivations in life.
Images from Mironova Gallery
