Portraits
A portrait is an artwork or image, typically a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving, that focuses on a person's face or head and shoulders.
Portraiture is an ancient art form dating back over 5,000 years to ancient Egypt. Before photography, people relied on paintings, sculptures, or drawings to capture someone's appearance.
However, portraits have always been more than just records. They were used to display the sitter's qualities like power, beauty, or wealth, often in a flattering way. Artists who didn't flatter, like William Hogarth, often had their work rejected. An exception was Francisco Goya, known for his seemingly honest portraits of the Spanish royal family.
50 results found for "Portraits"
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is a hallmark of 20th-century art. Since the 1970s she’s taken pictures of herself as different ‘types’ of people from American culture and beyond. In this Artist’s Artist, we look at how the representation of women in popular culture shaped her history-making career.
Marlene Dumas
The influential South African painter Marlene Dumas is famous for her portraits, but interestingly, she doesn’t see them as portraits at all.
Zhang Xiaogang
After growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, Zhang Xiaogang became internationally revered for his intimate portraits of Chinese history.
JR
French artist JR takes public art to the next level. For nearly two decades, he’s made huge black-and-white photo installations in collaboration with local communities across the world. In this Artist’s Artist, we take a look at the backstory.
How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art
Created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, CryptoPunks were one of the first NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks quickly penetrated the mainstream, captivating not only crypto enthusiasts but also artists, celebrities and the general public. Today the 24x24 avatars are a divisive status symbol living up to their Punk name.
Framing Inspiration
So you found the perfect artwork. Now what? From classic to creative framing, with room for magic comes room for mistakes. We took five prints to a framing studio in East London to explore the possibilities on offer for the contemporary collector. Here's what we found out.
What is silkscreen printing?
A printmaker takes a break from crafting world class editions at Make-Ready to guide us through the fundamentals, foibles and speculative future of screen printing and serigraphy.
What is an edition?
At Avant Arte, limited edition artworks are our bread and butter. As with many good things, they come wrapped in jargon. Read on for a quick fix summary of everything you need to know to start collecting.
JR: Miniature Giants
Installations by JR are some of the most viewed artworks in the world. Ahead of our first collaboration, we visited the legendary photographer in Paris to talk about scale, scaffolding, the ever-growing ambition of his public projects and why he wants to stay naïve forever.
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
A true pioneer, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s fictional portraits have influenced the 21st century renaissance of the black figure in mainstream art.
Laura El
Laura El (she/her) was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and lived in Ireland through early adulthood. Now, she lives and works in New York City.
NKSIN
NKSIN (he/him) was born in 1994 in Fukushima, Japan, where he continues to live and work.
Tahnee Lonsdale
Tahnee Lonsdale (she/her) was born 1982 in the United Kingdom and now lives and works in Los Angeles.
Katie Hector
Katie Hector (she/her) was born in 1992 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and now lives near Los Angeles, California.
Brian Calvin
Brian Calvin was born in 1969 in Visalia, California. He now lives and works in Ojai, California.
Deborah Brown
Deborah Brown (she/her) was born in Pasadena, California in 1955. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Bony Ramirez
Bony Ramirez (he/him) was born in 1996 in the Dominican Republic. At the age of 13, he moved with his family to New Jersey, United States, where he continues to live and work.
Baldur Helgason
Baldur Helgason (he/him) was born in Iceland, 1984. He currently lives and works in Chicago in the United States.
Jang Koal
Jang Koal (she/her) was born in 1989 in Ulsan, South Korea. She now lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.
Bäst
Michael “Bäst” Polimeni (he/him) was born in Coney Island, New York in 1970. He lived in Brooklyn until his death in 2021, and spent many years working at nearby JFK Airport.
Dada Khanyisa
Dada Khanyisa (they/them) was born in 1991 in Umzimkhulu, South Africa. They were raised in Johannesburg and currently work and live in Cape Town.
Dennis Osadebe
Dennis Osadebe (he/him) was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1991, where he continues to live and work.
JR
JR (he/him) was born in 1983 in Paris, France. Paris is still his base, but he travels around the world collaborating with different communities and institutions to create his art.
Rooo Lou
Rooo Lou was born in Osaka, Japan in 1988. He lives and works in Tokyo.
Marcela Flórido
Marcela Flórido (she/her) was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1988. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Lin Yen-Liang
Lin Yen-Liang (he/him) is a Tawianiese artist born in 1987. Today, he lives and works in Taiwan.
Antony Micallef
Antony Micallef (he/him) was born in 1975 in Swindon, England, and now lives and works in London.
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (she/her) was born in 1993 in Gutu, Zimbabwe, and now lives and works in London, UK.
Tschabalala Self
Tschabalala Self (she/her) was born in 1990 and raised in Harlem, New York. She now lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.
Koichi Sato
Koichi Sato (he/him) was born in 1974 in Tokyo, Japan, and now lives and works in New York City, United States.
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel (he/him) was born 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives and works between his New York City home Palazzo Chupi and Montauk, Long Island.
Rafa Macarrón
Rafa Macarrón (he him) was born in 1981 in Madrid, Spain where he continues to live and work.
Ryol
Ryo Laksamana (he/him), aka Ryol, was born in 1993 in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, and is currently based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Amir H. Fallah
Amir H. Fallah (he/him) was born in 1979 in Tehran, Iran, and now lives and works in Los Angeles.
Kwesi Botchway
Kwesi Botchway (he/him) was born in 1994 in Accra, Ghana. He lives and works in Accra and Brussels, Belgium.
Aubrey Levinthal
Aubrey Levinthal was born in 1986 in Philadelphia, USA, where she continues to live and work.
Shaina McCoy
Shaina McCoy (she/her) was born in 1993 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she continues to live and work.
Hideaki Kawashima
Hideaki Kawashima (he/him) was born in 1969 in Aichi, Japan, and now lives and works in Tokyo.
Patrick Quarm
Patrick Quarm (he/him) was born in 1988 in Sekondi, Ghana, and now lives and works in Takoradi, Ghana.
Shannon Bono
Shannon Bono was born in 1995 in the UK. She now lives and works in London as both a practicing artist and associate lecturer at UAL.
Kenturah Davis
Kenturah Davis was born in California in 1984. She now works between Los Angeles and Accra, Ghana.
Gisela McDaniel
Gisela McDaniel (she/her) was born in 1995 in Bellevue, Nebraska, and is currently based in Detroit, Michigan.
Mike Lee
American visual artist Mike Lee was born in 1983 in Placentia, California, and now lives and works in New York.
Adriana Oliver
Spanish artist Adriana Oliver, born 1990, currently lives and works a short distance from Barcelona.
Alexis Ralaivao
Alexis Ralaivao was born in Rennes, France, in 1991, where he continues to live and work.
Hassan Hajjaj
Hassan Hajjaj was born in 1961 in Larache, Morocco, and now lives and works in London, UK.
Scott Kahn
American artist Scott Kahn was born in 1946 in Springfield, Massachusetts and now resides in upstate New York.
Isshaq Ismail
Isshaq Ismail was born in 1989 in Accra, Ghana. He uses his art as a tool to make polemic statements, working in a style he describes as infantile semi-abstraction.
Fan (Hand-finished)
In a series of hand-finished prints, Hideaki Kawashima reflects on becoming who you once looked up to.The Japanese term ‘ojisan’ – used by younger generations in reference to characteristically stubborn middle aged men – is equal parts affectionate, mocking and deferential. With Fan, Kawashima returns to his adolescent view of such figures, staging relationships between a youthful sitter and portraits looking on from behind. “When I was younger, I often couldn’t understand what Ojisan were saying, but now that I have become an Ojisan myself, It seems reasonable that I did not understand them. This series is a tribute to my predecessors, who guided me in this way.”The framed portraits are individually painted by the artist in gouache, making every print unique. Most feature archetypal Ojisan, while some reprise the artwork’s subject – shifting the notion of being a ‘fan’ to one of self love. The nondescript book she is engrossed by absorbs this subtext – a novel filled with wisdom from the past, or a diary penned moments ago? Because of the time consuming nature of the hand-finishing process, only ten prints will be ready to dispatch at launch on Wednesday 15 November. The remaining ten will be completed in early 2024.
Fan (Hand-finished) is accompanied by an edition of 30 prints featuring a portrait of renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
Ekene Emeka-Maduka
Ekene Emeka-Maduka, born 1996, was raised in Kano, Nigeria, before moving to Canada as a student. She now lives and works in Winnipeg.
Other words in the glossary
Building your collection? We can help.
Your questions, answered
We collaborate with artists to create both limited editions and works on paper.
A limited edition is a set number of similar or identical artworks. The size of the edition denotes the total number of artworks that will ever be made, underscoring their value.
Framing options vary for each piece and are listed on the individual artwork pages. Our standard glazing offer is a minimum 90% UV acrylic plexiglass, or you can upgrade to an anti reflective Optium museum plexiglass.
Yes, 100%. We work directly with our artists to create editions that accurately represent their body of work. Additionally, every artist personally reviews and approves their final editions.
Every artwork is signed or stamped, and individually numbered. You will also receive a stamped and numbered certificate of authenticity.
No—the copyright is not transferred to the purchaser of the edition.
All the ins and outs can be found on our orders and shipping page.
