Introducing Red Star Press Chinese Urban Art

[redstarpress]

Hi all,

Red Star Press is a Chinese based publisher for the emerging local urban/graffiti/street art scene. Our goal is to provide collectors worldwide with authentic and quality Chinese graffiti, and urban inspired art from established and upcoming artists. Most of our artists have had successful sales locally (gallery sales and auctions) and are looking to attract new collectors and interest abroad.

Due to the harsh penalties for vandalism, there's not a lot of graffiti writers willing to go public so it's been a challenge to win over their trust. We've spent almost a year working with local artists to convince them to let us represent them outside of China. We'll be updating the site over the next few days with some new graffiti artist profiles and their artwork.

But in the meantime, here are a few things available for purchase from our online store today.
- Chinese Earthquake Charity Hand finished Print by Soos a Beijing Graffiti Artist. 100% of all proceeds will go to Mercy Corps to aid in the Chinese Earthquake relief efforts. You can purchase the print here: www.redstarpress.com/details-36-44.html We're hoping to have images of the hand finished prints in the next few days.

- "Itch 1" hand finished print by Ha Shiyou, a Beijing street inspired artist. You can purchase the print here: www.redstarpress.com/store-27-Ha_Shiyou.html

- And lastly an upcoming print by the venerable Zhang Qitian...one of China's most established and respected artists. His works can be seen in every major national museum in China. Go to the News section of our site to get a sneak peak. www.redstarpress.com/store-28-Zhang_Qitian.html

We also have a number of originals for sale here:www.redstarpress.com/index.php?module=Store . All artwork has been priced lower than what the artists have been commanding at auction. We're able to do this because we pass on most of the revenue to the artist.

As we are headquartered in Seattle, Washington we enforce western quality and security standards when it comes to purchasing artwork from our site. This includes using Google Checkout to safely process transactions. All prices include priority shipping, handling, and insurance worldwide.

We're pleased to offer Artchival forum members a discount of 10% for all artwork purchased before July 8th. Simply use the coupon code "VIP" (without quotes) during the Google Checkout process.

Thanks for the opportunity to make this announcement and please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
Art
Email: [e-mail]
URL: www.redstarpress.com

P.S. Thanks very much to Artasty and OMG Posters for the blog coverage.
www.artasty.com/shows.php?entry=358&type=shows
omgposters.com/2008/06/26/strength-in-unity-chinese-earthquake-benefit-art-print-by-soos/

[sleepboy]

I'm kinda digging Ha Shi You's but it's hard to pay such high prices for an artist you know nothing about. Good luck though.

Some that I liked.

[StephenW]

I didn't read much about the work, so forgive me if I'm missing "the point" here, but I personally would never buy a piece with an asian guy making a fool out of himself. It reminds me of the movies of yesteryear where Asians were portrayed as slanted eyed, buck teeth, goofy looking chinks who sucks at English and was the butt of all jokes.

I'm never usually the kind of guy who's big on how his race is portrayed, but the pieces I saw in this thread definitely evoked a strong sense of disappointment that someone would bring back such images after we've finally gotten away from being portrayed in such a manner in popular culture.

That's my .02 cents.

[redstarpress]

Hi there,

I can tell you that the artist is not portraying Asians in a negative light. FYI, I'm Asian and wouldn't think about promoting any artist that would. If you read the description of the piece, you'll understand Ha's point of reference.

Also, we're pleased to announce some new available artwork from Zhang Qitian's "Memories" series. Each painting represents a distinct memory from the Cultural Revolution and can be purchased from our website: www.redstarpress.com/store-28-Zhang_Qitian.html.

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 15" x 17"
Price: $700 each (includes worldwide shipping, handling and insurance)

"Change of Wind"


The New Gospel


The Cleansing of the Four


Artchival forum members receive 10% off their purchase by using coupon code "artchival" during the checkout process.

Please feel free to contact us at [e-mail] if you have any questions about these pieces. Thanks for all of your support.

P.S.
We're going to release 2 new prints by Zhang Qi Tian and Cui Nan in the next few weeks.

[redstarpress]

We're pleased to release 2 new pieces of artwork by Zhang Qitian and Steel Dan.

Zhang Qitian's "Buddha's Hands"

Zhang provides the following statement for this print: "Humans created societies with their hands. Their veneration to deities slowly replaced their awareness of the individual self. In Chinese society, people believe Buddha’s hands will enrich the people. However, the government acting in many ways like a deity often breaks the dreams of the people. During Cultural Revolution, this social occurrence had climaxed. With the wave of a hand by Chairman Mao, people would move forward without thinking. The hand had replaced the brain, and all individual consciousness is lost."

Each print has been hand finished by Zhang and includes his personal seal at the bottom right of the print.
URL: www.redstarpress.com/details-28-95.html
Type: Hand finished limited edition print
Medium: Screen print and acrylic paint
Edition: 35
Price: $275
Shipping/Handling/Insurance: Price includes worldwide shipping, handling and insurance.


Steel Dan's "Tiao"

This is the first time Steel Dan has created canvas pieces with this image. Each piece has been hand sprayed and painted by the artist. The Chinese character on the lower left hand corner is the title of this piece. It is pronounced "tee-au". In Chinese it means to pick up or provoke, an appropriate double entendre for this piece.

Steel Dan provided the following description for this piece:
"Five thousand years in the making, the bowl is boundless like the ocean
The Dragon flies along the walls, in the clouds
Like a ship sailing in the ocean, chopsticks are its oars going to the orient
Eat the red noodles, drink the stars
Ride the dragon floating above the clouds, traveling between the seas
Eastern shell with western soul, western skills with eastern spirit
The melting pot where all becomes one"
URL: www.redstarpress.com/details-39-96.html#
Type: Original artwork
Medium: Spraypaint and Acrylic paint on canvas
Edition: 10
Price: $400
Shipping/Handling/Insurance: Price includes worldwide shipping, handling and insurance.

We also posted a few images of Steel Dan's art in the streets of Beijing. You can view them in our "News" section of our site www.redstarpress.com/news.html

Thanks very much for all of your support and please contact us if you have any questions about the new artwork.

Regards,
Red Star Press
Email: [e-mail]
URL: www.redstarpress.com

[redstarpress]

Print Magazine did an interesting piece on the graffiti popping up in Beijing. Here's the link to the article: www.printmag.com/design_articles/BeijingOlympicGraffiti/tabid/403/Default.aspx