Mark Kostabi's Graphic Art Exhibition "Baltic Passion"

"With this graphic art exhibition, I happily return to Estonia, where I made my debut over 30 years ago. About a year ago, when I was in the beautiful restaurant of the 'Victoria' hotel, I immediately dreamed of having an exhibition there. And when I saw their piano, I felt truly at home and wished to perform there as part of the exhibition, to continue my display from last summer at the nearby Pärnu New Art Museum. This time, I am sharing my passion for the graphic process, which allows me to share my universal language of faceless figures with a much larger audience." - Mark Kostabi

Mark Kostabi (1960) was born in Los Angeles, California to Estonian parents. In 1982, he moved to New York and soon became a prominent figure in the East Village art scene, associating with icons like Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat.

Kostabi is best known for his paintings featuring universal faceless figures, which often reflect contemporary political, social, and psychological issues, and for the creation of Kostabi World - his controversial studio known for hiring numerous assistants.

Kostabi's artworks are currently in more than 60 permanent museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, and KUMU in Tallinn.

Kostabi has also designed album covers for Guns N' Roses (Use Your Illusion), The Ramones (¡Adios Amigos!), and several others.

His many collectors range from Bill Clinton to Luciano Pavarotti and include celebrities like Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega, Brooke Shields, Axl Rose, Debbie Harry, Billy Wilder, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Gates, Aaron Spelling, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many others.

His life and work have been featured in numerous magazines and television shows.

Kostabi is also a successful musician and has performed his musical works both as a soloist and with other musicians, including Ornette Coleman, Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Stefano di Battista, Gene Pritsker, Mark Egan, Lukas Ligeti, Dave Taylor, Chris Parker, Tony Esposito, Salvatore Flauto, Tommy Campbell, Gerry Brown, Lara St. John, John Clark, Greesi Desiree Langovits, Adam Holzman, Aaron Comess, John Lee, and Paul Kostabi. His works have also been independently performed by Kathleen Supové, Rein Rannap, Kristjan Järvi, Mark Berman, Michael Wolff, Marko Martin, Kai Schumacher, and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

The exhibition curator is Greesi Desiree Langovits.