Artist:Steve Kaufman
Title:Cohiba State II ( multi)
Edition::Serigraph on Canvas 250
Image size:10 " x 25 1/2"
About the Artist:After winning the Underground Artist of the Year award in 1992, for creating 55 racial harmony murals in New York City, his life’s work in art and social progress was just beginning to take form. From age eight, when he created a series of paintings that would hang in a New York Holocaust museum, until today, Kaufman has always conceived his art with a vision for a better world. Kaufman became Andy Warhol’s "legman" and creative assistant in 1978 and went on to design the famous theme parties at Studio 54 – developing clients such as Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Taylor – and collaborate with Saturday Night Live on its classic Pop Art opening sequence. The ‘80’s saw further successes for Kaufman, and in 1989 he opened his Art Studio to address problems in inner city New York. His first efforts were campaigns for AIDS awareness and racial unity. He followed with a series of portraits of homeless people, which raised $4.72 million for the homeless. Meanwhile, he moved into sports portraiture, with commissioned paintings of Mickey Mantle for Mantle’s Restaurant and of Joe Frazier to aid the Police Athletic League.