Artnet blowing out “Urban Art,” this month

Article written by: Jacob Breinholt
Posted on: July 27, 2009

The on-line art auction site Artnet, is currently selling a fairly deep stack of urban styled art.

Artnet, located on the web at artnet.com, has been in business since the late 90’s. The site describes itself as;

…the place to buy, sell and research fine art online. Our online Gallery Network is the largest of its kind, with over 2,200 galleries in over 250 cities worldwide, more than 166,000 artworks by over 39,000 artists from around the globe. The Network serves dealers and art buyers alike by providing a survey of the market and its pricing trends, as well as the means to communicate instantly, inexpensively and globally. Other key services include artnet, the insider’s guide to the art market with daily news, reviews, and features by renowned writers in the art community and the Price Database. artnet Price Database is the most comprehensive color illustrated archive of fine art auction results worldwide. Representing auction results from over 500 international auction houses since 1985, the Price Database covers more than 4 million auction results by over 188,000 artists, ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary Art.

This month (until July 25), the site is featuring an auction consisting of urban art created by some of the most well known names in genre. Some of the artists include; Russell Young; Keith Haring; Shepard Fairey; John Matos; and, Jim Houser, to name a few. In addition to the John Matos drawing, above, below are a few of the pieces that are on the block this month.

Fairey is famous for his “Obey” campaign (turned clothing line), and more recently for the Obama “Hope” image.

Even for those who aren’t planning on adding some new pieces to their collection of urban art. The group of works that are currently up for auction at Artnet are worth checking out. It is easy to see when viewing the pieces currently being showcased in the Artnet auction, how they have influenced hip hop fashion.