Mark Kostabi
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Mark Kalev Kostabi is an American artist and composer. He was born in Los Angeles in 1960 to Estonian immigrants, and raised in Whittier, California and is the older brother of musician and artist Paul Kostabi.
Kostabi studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton. In 1982 he moved to New York City and by 1984 he became a leading figure of the East Village art scene. During that time he also developed a provocative media persona by publishing self-interviews which commented on the commodification of contemporary art. By 1987 his works were widely exhibited in New York galleries and prominently throughout the United States, in Japan, Germany and Australia. In 1988, inspiring extensive international press coverage, he founded Kostabi World - his large New York studio known for openly employing numerous painting assistants and idea people. In 1996 be began dividing his time between New York and Rome and consequently his work's already strong presence in the Italian art scene was vigorously enhanced.
Kostabi produces a weekly cable TV show, Name That Painting, where art critics and celebrities compete to title his paintings for cash awards. In 2005 and 2006 among the participants were May Pang, Lala Brooks, Michel Gondry, Mark Bego, Randy Jones, Taylor Mead, Sylvia Miles, Ron Saint-Germain, Gary Indiana, Walter Robinson and Victor Bockris. Name That Painting also features guest appearances by bands such as The Willowz and The She Wolves.
Kostabi writes an advice column for artists, Ask Mark Kostabi, for Artnet.com [1].
He has designed album covers for Guns 'N' Roses (Use Your Illusion) and The Ramones (Adios Amigos) and numerous products including a Swatch watch, limited-edition vases, espresso cups, computer accessories and a Giro d'Italia pink jersey.
Kostabi is also known for his many collaborations with other artists including Enzo Cucchi, Arman, Howard Finster, Tadanori Yokoo and Enrico Baj.
Kostabi's music has been performed internationally by orchestras and soloists including Rein Rannap, Kristjan Järvi, Maano Männi, Delilah Gutman, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and Kostabi himself. His CDs are: "I Did It Steinway, Songs For Sumera and New Alliance".
Retrospective exhibitions of Kostabi's paintings have been held at the Mitsukoshi Museum in Tokyo (1992) and the Art Museum of Estonia in Tallinn (1998). Kostabi's work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, The National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome and the Groninger Museum in Holland.
His permanent public works include a mural in Palazzo dei Priori in Arezzo, Italy and a large bronze sculpture in the central square of San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy.
Kostabi has been profiled on 60 Minutes, Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, A Current Affair (US TV series)A Current Affair, Nightwatch (with Charlie Rose), The Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Nonsolomoda, West 57th, CNN, MTV and numerous television programs throughout Europe and Japan. In print he has been featured in The New York Times, People, Vogue, The Face, Playboy, Forbes, New York Magazine, Domus, Corriera Della Sera, Panorama, Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews, Flash Art, Arte, Arte In and Tema Celeste.
The many books published about Kostabi include Sadness Because the Video Rental Store Was Closed, Kostabi: The Early Years, Conversations with Kostabi, The Rhythm of Inspiration, Mark Kostabi and the East Village Scene 1983-1987 and Mark Kostabi in the 21st Century.
