Pop Art Has Its Hidden Gems
When I first saw an enamel on metal piece by Keith Haring & LA II at a Christies auction, my first question was, "Who the heck was LA II". The estimated auction price range was $40,000- $60,0000, and the detailed mass of squiggly lines and disorganization in the piece did not seem to reflect the normal range of Keith Haring. It seemed an unusual collaboration and I was interested in finding out who this partner in painting was.
It turns out that LA II (LA 2) was none other than Angel Ortiz. Heard of him? LA 2 (Little Angel) is Ortiz' tag when he does his graffiti art. As a 13 year old he met Keith Haring when he heard on the street that Keith was impressed with his work and wanted to meet him. It was a strange artistic combination, a 22 year old gay man and a straight young Puerto Rican, but they worked well together. Mr. Ortiz apparently worked together with Keith Haring on some mutual works, leading to shows of their collaboration as Keith finally became recognized and hit the big time. In fact, one of their pieces they worked on together was being auctioned at the show I happened to stop at.
Unfortunately, LA 2 got involved with heroin in the early 1990's, spent some time in prison on a possession charge, and to this day is trying to get his act together. He undoubtedly feels he has been taken advantage of by assorted art dealers, who undervalued his association with Haring and denied him credit and profits from the sale and licensing for artwork whose value he was instrumental in creating. Some people in the know say he is impossible to deal with in business relationships, and doesn't appreciate some of the help he has received.
However, he is still working, has a gallery in Manhattan, and his collaborative work has been shown in numerous venues from 1982 to 2010. These include: The Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York City, the Fun Gallery in New York City, The Galarie Watari in Tokyo, Salvatore Ala Gallery in Italy, the Pino Pascali museum in Italy, Tampa Museum of Art, Follin Gallery also in New York City , Scope Art Fair in Los Angeles, Woodward Gallery, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and of course appeared at Christies. Hopefully this talented artist will come to his senses and make a substantial mark on his own in the booming field of pop art.
About the Author:
Matthew Isaacson is a partner at Haskell New York Inc. For discount Art Paper Rolls, Office Supplies, Furniture and Printing Services, see us online at OfficeSalesUSA.com.
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