Mark Kostabi's Graphic Exhibition "Baltic Passion"

"With this graphic 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 hotel "Victoria," I immediately dreamed of holding an exhibition there. And when I saw their piano, I truly felt at home and wished to perform there as part of the exhibition, continuing from my display 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 the language of my universal 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, interacting with icons such as Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat.

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

His many collectors range from Bill Clinton to Luciano Pavarotti and include celebrities such as 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 TV shows.

Kostabi is also a successful musician and has performed his music both solo 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.