Steve Kaufman Art
We are the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for children’s merchandise using the artwork of Andy Warhol’s former assistant, Steve Kaufman, who created bold, iconic art, which is now available for licensing. https://becker-associates-llc.myshopify.com/products/steve-kaufman-art
Andy Warhol’s former assistant, Steve Kaufman aka “SAK” (1960-2010), was a charismatic pop artist, humanitarian, and pioneer of Neo Pop Art. Steve worked with Warner Brothers, Coca-Cola, Stan Lee, Sinatra, Travolta, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Estate and many more... The themes in his pictures include: Presidents, super heros, religion, leaders of the world, and money of many countries.
A major movie about Kaufman’s life is currently being cast.
Born in New York in 1960, Steve had his first art exhibit at eight years old. In his formative years, Steve assisted Andy Warhol and learned the art of silk screening. After leaving Warhol’s factory, Steve opened his own studio in 1989, where he evolved the art of silk screening using oil paint and vivid colors that were embraced globally. He painted icons and trends that stir the spirit.
Kaufman's artwork hangs in the White House and the Smithsonian, as well as hundreds of other collections around the world. Kaufman is also the only American to have been awarded the Picasso Ring, which is an annual award given to an artist the Picasso Academy feels has the spirit of Picasso.
Steve’s paintings are also part of a permanent collection in the MuseoNacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain; The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Residence Museum in Salzburg, Austria; The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Warwickshire, England; and The Birthplace of Ludwig Van Beethoven in Bonn, Germany.
A collection of four of Kaufman’s Coca-Cola paintings are hanging in the Coca Cola corporate offices in Atlanta, Georgia. His Coca-Cola themed paintings were featured in “The World of Coca-Cola Museum” in Atlanta Georgia in 2009-2010. In 2015-2016 Steve’s art was featured in “The Coca-Cola Bottle World Art Tour inspiring Pop Culture for 100 years.”
Steve started and ran a charity called “Give Kids a Break”. He hired many of New York's homeless to work for him, painted their portraits, and went on to help raise almost $5 million to benefit the homeless. Through his own funding, he ran and operated this program to give jobs to gang kids and kids coming right out of jail. They worked in his factory stretching canvases, mixing paints and doing chores that gave them self-worth. Most went on to lead productive lives.
Steve died in 2010 at the age of 49 but his art continues to be exhibited, and placed into museums, private collections and corporations.
"I'm truly blessed to be doing what I've always wanted - CREATE. I have found a freedom that is hard to put into words. I always wondered about my projects - which artists are working on what, and which directions should I take? I don't even think of those things now. I passionately go into my studio and ask myself, what would I like to create today?" – Steve Kaufman.
Steve Kaufman BIO
Known for his association with Andy Warhol, Steve Alan Kaufman (December 29, 1960 - February 12, 2010) was a great American pop artist, activist and humanitarian. With the encouragement of his mother, Kaufman had his first show at the age of 8 at a Jewish Temple in the Bronx where he grew up. At just 14 he attained a scholarship to the Parsons School of Design, while going on to attend Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts (SVA) where he met contemporary artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
By 16, Kaufman was going to Studio 54 and mixing with denizens of the 70’s New York art scene. In 1981 Kaufman met Andy Warhol, who became a significant influence on the 19-year-old Kaufman, who worked under Warhol as his assistant at his studio, The Factory, producing original paintings and silkscreens. During this time Kaufman designed theme parties for various nightclubs, sold paintings to the likes of Calvin Klein and Steve Rubell, and even designed the graphics for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”
After graduating from SVA with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Kaufman held art shows in London and eventually left The Factory to establish his own studio, named “SAK”, after the nickname Warhol had given to him based on his initials. Already an activist, having participated in an early AIDS awareness demonstration in which he was arrested, Kaufman attempted to make an impact on the Homeless issue by hiring homeless New Yorkers to assist him at his studio. He went on to raise millions for the homeless cause.
By the early 90’s, Kaufman’s work was highly in demand, but he wanted to remain in touch with a broad, public audience. He staged a one-man, one-night show painting 55 “Racial Harmony” murals in New York and appeared on TV and radio to promote racial tolerance. He also created an AIDS memorial in New York City and draped red fabric over the letter “D” of the Hollywood Sign in remembrance of everyone who had died of AIDS.
He eventually moved his studio to Los Angeles and in true Kaufman form, hired over a 100 ex-gang kids to assist him in his studio. During this time he created a new style called “Comic Book Pop Art,” where he used original paintings of super heroes as icons. He also worked with the Martin Lawrence Gallery where he created limited editions of such icons as Beethoven and Marilyn Monroe, breaking sales records for a new artist.
In 1999, Kaufman’s health began to deteriorate; he had a cardiac episode and suffered a motorcycle accident. Refusing to let his health slow him down, he continued exhibiting, but by 2003 he suffered a major stroke following Art Expo, NY. He designed a slower schedule but still managed to introduce a new art form—his “Uniques”—which were multiple originals of some of his most iconic paintings.
With his health seemingly improved in 2006, he ramped up an exhausting schedule of shows. But he again suffered a series of strokes, eventually dying of a heart attack in Vail, Colorado on February 12, 2010 during a show. Kaufman once said, “If I stop doing shows, I might as well stop living. This is what I live for. I had a great life, so please don’t cry for me. I’ve had the life of 100 men.” His memory, as well as his paintings, have made history and will continue to be cherished and valued for generations to come.
http://stevekaufmanartlicensing.com/steve-kaufman-catalogue-raisonne/
American Pop Art Inc. and Steve Kaufman Art Licensing ~ August 2018 Newsletter
We have some incredible news to tell you!! We just gave license and signed a contract with Producer Terry Wilkerson for a movie to be made of Steve Kaufman’s life.
Here’s the Press Release:
https://www.prweb.com/releases/biopic_on_charismatic_pop_artist_steve_kaufman_aka_sak_in_development/prweb15703889.htm
This is huge for Steve’s name, his art and legacy. The script is being written and we will give you updates as it progresses.
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