NEW YORK and BERLIN, July 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Now through July 23, artnet Auctions is presenting a special online
auction of Urban Art from 1972-Present. The sale traces the evolution of
Urban Art from the 1970s to today with a spectacular range of 175 artworks by
60 artists including Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, CRASH, Faile, Keith
Haring, and Mr. Brainwash.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/artnet/39039/

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090707/NY42488 )

Early New York Graffiti Art

Leading the sale is a collection of early works by some of the most
influential New York Graffiti artists of the 1970s and 1980s. Among the
highlights is Hot Dogs and Mustard, 1972 by Coco 144, a signed spray painting
on canvas in the artist's classic style (estimate: US$25,000-US$35,000). Also
featured in this group is the nine foot steel sculpture Abstract of the
Letter A, 1982 by Phase 2 and Douglas Abdell 
(estimate: US$140,000-US$180,000).

Early works also include 15 masterpieces by ground-breaking graffiti
artists DAZE (Chris Ellis), CRASH (John Matos), and DONDI (Donald White).
CRASH began spray painting subway cars at the early age of 13. His virtuoso
style is captured in seven stunning works including Hallucination #177
(estimate: US$80,000-US$100,000) and Arcadia Revisited, (estimate:
US$55,000-US$85,000) both from 1987. CRASH's contemporary, DONDI became
famous for his innovative style and elaborate pieces, including Children of
the Grave, three whole New York subway cars painted from 1978-1980. The
complexity of his work is evident in three rare 1983 acrylics offered in the
sale, Reflections, Style Maneuver and Boy Graff (estimates:
US$12,000-US$16,000 each).

Graffiti Art Moves Indoors

New York's crackdown on graffiti during the late 1980s drove artists such
as Keith Haring, LA2 (Angel Ortiz) and Jean-Michel Basquiat from subway cars
to art galleries, bringing graffiti art to the commercial mainstream. The
sale features four prints by Keith Haring including Art Attack on AIDS, 1988
and United Nations - Fight AIDS Worldwide, 1990 which bear witness to the
AIDS epidemic of the late 1980s (estimates: US$2,500-US$3,500 each). Also
featured in this group are three works by Jean-Michel Basquiat executed
between 1984 and 2005, including Jawbone of An Ass, 1985 (estimate:
US$20,000-US$30,000).

Contemporary Street Art

Contemporary Street Art figures prominently in the sale, including ten
works by the enormously popular stencil artists Banksy and Blek le Rat.
Banksy has gained international notoriety for both his record-setting sales
and headline-grabbing stunts. The sale showcases eight Banksy screen prints
from 2004-2008 including Morons, 2007, which pokes fun at the art world
(estimate: US$7,000-US$9,000). Also featured in this group is Desert Storm,
2007 by French artist Blek Le Rat, who is known as the godfather of stencil
art (estimate: US$5,000-US$7,000).

Among the other contemporary highlights are 25 works by Shepard Fairey,
Faile, Aiko Nakagawa and Hush who share common origins in stencil art and
print-making. Ten works by artist's collective Faile from 2004-2008 include
the classic Faile image Bunny Boy, 2004 (estimate: US$9,000-US$12,000).
Shepard Fairey, who gained global acclaim for his 2008 Obama "Hope" poster is
represented with six works from this period, including Peace Bomber (Red
Edition), 2008 (estimate: US$1,200-US$1,500).

Rounding out the sale are recent works by Mr. Brainwash, Chris Johanson,
Anthony Lister and Neck Face. Neck Face stands out due to his violent
drawings of disturbing subjects such as the 2008 Untitled (Grim Reaper)
(estimate: US$800-US$1,200) while Australian-born artist Lister exposes the
dark side of street life in Magic Tricks, 2009 (estimate: US$6,000-US$8,000).

"We are delighted to present such a comprehensive collection of Urban and
Street Art," said Hans Neuendorf, CEO of artnet AG. "This auction brings
together seminal works by some the most influential Urban and Street artists
of the past forty years."

Browse the sale at www.artnetonlineauctions.com/UrbanArt

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