RETNA Prints and Multiples
American, b. 1979
Born Marquis Lewis on March 24, 1979, in Los Angeles, CA, Retna joined the Los Angeles mural scene as a teenager.
As a youth of African-American, El Salvadorian and Cherokee descent growing up in Los Angeles, Retna was mesmerized by the gang graffiti that surrounded him. He began practicing the art form and adopted the name Retna from a Wu-Tang Clan song. In the mid-nineties, he began making murals on walls, trains and freeway overpasses throughout the city.
Retna transformed from a street artist to a break-out star in the contemporary art world. He garnered attention from Usher, an R&B artist, who commissioned the artist to create a portrait of Marvin Gaye, and MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch, who wrote in the September 2010 issue of Juxtapoz “one of the most exciting exhibitions...this year, anywhere, was Retna's exhibition at New Image Art.” MOCA also featured Retna's work in the major “Art in the Streets” exhibit, the first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art.
At first glance, Retna’s prints and paintings look like an undiscovered ancient script: a series of hypnotic symbols — complex, beautiful and captivating. But he has created an original alphabet, fusing together influences from ancient Incan and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic, Asian calligraphy, graffiti, blackletter, Roman lettering and Hebrew script.
Each piece carries meaning, conveying an event or dialogue that the artist experienced. The writing does not belong to a particular language. Retna explains, “I want my text to feel universal. I want people from different cultures to all find some similarity in it — whether they can read it or not.” He has also stated that “it is important to have art in the streets as a cultural fabric that is woven into the city for the upliftment of civic pride.”
Retna’s works are in the private collections of Jeffrey Deitch, Swizz Beats, Usher, and Dave Chappelle, among many others. His large-scale mural across the eastern exterior of Restoration Hardware’s new gallery in West Palm, Florida, was valued at $500,000 by the city’s Art in Public Places program.
Retna has collaborated with major fashion brands including Nike, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Helmut Lang, and designed the artwork for Justin Bieber’s Purpose album cover. RETNA also acted as the artistic designer for the San Francisco and Washington National Opera’s production of “Aida."
Find original Retna art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by New Union Gallery)
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Artist: RETNA
Madre (Mother), dazzling Silkscreen w/ crystallina (diamond dust) hand signed/n
By RETNA
Located in New York, NY
RETNA
Madre (Mother), 2023
Silkscreen and crystallina (diamond dust) on Coventry rag paper
Hand signed and numbered by RETNA from the limited edition of only 75 on the front (41/75)
...
Category
2010s Street Art RETNA Prints and Multiples
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Glitter, Screen
'EVEN THE HEART SKIPS A BEAT' Abstract Silkscreen Print with Diamond Dust, 2024
By RETNA
Located in New York, NY
'EVEN THE HEART SKIPS A BEAT' is a signature stylistic print by RETNA. The large-scale glittering artwork is a silkscreen print with layers of genuine diamond dust. This exquisite p...
Category
2010s Abstract RETNA Prints and Multiples
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Retna Braddock Tiles Print
By RETNA
Located in Englishtown, NJ
Gorgeous Retna Braddock Tiles Print.
Created by Retna in his distinctive style combining calligraphy, hieroglyphics and graffiti in gorgeous vibrant colors.
Limited edition of 250.
...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary RETNA Prints and Multiples
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
'EVEN THE HEART SKIPS A BEAT' (Black on Black)
By RETNA
Located in New York, NY
'EVEN THE HEART SKIPS A BEAT' (Black on Black) is a signature stylistic print by RETNA. The large-scale glittering artwork is a silkscreen print with layers of genuine diamond dust. ...
Category
2010s Abstract RETNA Prints and Multiples
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Archival Paper, Screen
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Rafael Bogarin is an established contemporary Venezuelan artist known for his abstract serigraphs. Bogarin was born in 1946, in El Tigre, where he grew up making his own toys and learning to draw. He studied in Caracas at the Cristobal Rojas School of Fine Arts, specializing in lithography and etching.
From 1970 to 1992, Bogarin, like so many artists, lived in New York. As he explored various techniques, he became an expert in serigraphs, earning himself acclaim in Latin America as a pioneer. In South America he traveled the continent giving classes and learning about native cultures. When he returned to the land of his youth, he was inspired to create the concept of the entire world in the Museo Vial in El Tigre in 1982. Later he made others along the route between Colombia and Venezuela. Recently he has been creating and realizing ideas like the Museo de Murales a Cielo Abierto (Museum of Murals to the Open Sky).
Detailed biographical information (source: artist's website):
Rafael Bogarín was born in El Tigre, Anzoátegui state, Venezuela, on January 20, 1946. He studied at the Cristóbal Rojas School, which he finished in 1966; Among his teachers are Luis Guevara Moreno, Pedro León Zapata, Luisa Palacios and Luis Chacón. Upon returning from school he founded the Zapato Roto group with other artists, with the aim of taking art to the streets. In 1966 he directed the outdoor exhibitions of the Venezuelan American Center, and two years later he participated in the XXVIII Official Salon, where he received the Rome Prize.
During that time he ordered elements such as nuts and serrated blades in relation to discs engraved with burin and other techniques, and made the final impression in planes of one color. In 1970 he received a scholarship and traveled to New York; He studies at the Pratt Graphic Center and the Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. In 1973 he founded, together with Manuel Kohn, the Bogarín Printmaking Workshop, a workplace for Venezuelan artists living in the United States; This workshop, of which he has been master printer, allowed continuity to his artistic work. Bogarín investigates the possibilities of super eight cinema and makes films with quality similar to commercial formats; From these experiences emerge The Lonely World (1975) and New World Symphony (1976). In 1977 he deepened his study of color with The New Color, a portfolio where he produced superimposed colors through transparencies and glazes.
His teaching experience includes courses at the Rafael Monasterios School of Plastic Arts in Maracay (1969-1970), Ceagraf (1979), as well as workshops in various cities around the world. In 1980 he made an exhibition of silkscreen prints in cities in Italy, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico and the United States. That year he resumed his interest in outdoor exhibitions with a museum project with murals by 30 artists for El Tigre (Venezuela); The Rafael Bogarín Road Museum was inaugurated in 1982 and brought together 30 murals on 2 x 4 meter fences, by artists such as Mario Toral, Édgar Sánchez and Paul Davis. He carried out the project to recover the architectural spaces of El Tigre (Venezuela), through murals, sculptures, plazas and humanized spaces.
In 2006 he painted the largest painted flag in the world in El Tigre, Venezuela. Bogarín has exhibited his work on all 5 continents and currently lives and works in Panama City in his private workshop and in the Articruz workshop.
Individual exhibitions
Ø 1966. Gallery of the Medical College. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1966. Venezuelan American Center. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1970. Protobello Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1977. First National Bank of Louisville. Luosville, Kentucky, USA.
Ø 1978. Venezuela Gallery. New York City, USA.
Ø 1979. Julián Marchena Room, Museum of Costa Rica. San Jose Costa Rica.
Ø 1979. La Otra Banda Gallery. Merida, Venezuela.
Ø 1980. Galeter Center. Adro, Italy.
Ø 1980. Gallery of Modern Art. Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.
Ø 1980. Jewish Community Center. Monmouth, New Jersey, USA.
Ø 1980. Frank Fedele Fine Arts. New York City, USA.
Ø 1980. El Túnel Gallery. Guatemala, Guatemala.
Ø 1981. Garcés – Velásquez Gallery. Bogota Colombia.
Ø 1982. Siete Siete Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1984. Acquavella Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1985. Cultural Center. Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Ø 1992. Sotage Gallery, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
Ø 2017. Arteconsult Gallery. Panama City, Panama.
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Ø 1969. Rome Prize. XXIX Official Salon of Venezuelan Art, Museum of Fine Arts. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1971. Honorable mention. First Young Artists' Salon. Maracay, Venezuela.
Ø 1984. First prize, Salón Aragua. Maracay, Venezuela.
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Ø 1974. Venezuelan Consulate. New York City, USA.
Ø 1982. Creator of the First Road Museum in the World. El Tigre, Venezuela.
Ø 1983. Road Museum. Roldanillo, Colombia.
Ø 1984. Bicentennial Road Museum. Cucuta, Colombia.
Ø 2000. Ceramic mural. Dairy, Venezuela.
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Ø 1963 to 1966. Spiral Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1966. El Pez Dorado Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1966. “Zapato Roto” Festival. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1967. D´Empaire Hall. Maracaibo Venezuela.
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Ø 1966 and 1971. Arturo Michelena Hall. Valencia, Venezuela.
Ø 1966 to 1968. Annual Venezuelan Art Salon. Museum of Fine Arts. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1968. Luis Ángel Arango Library. Bogota Colombia.
Ø 1969. Tertulia Room. Cali, Colombia.
Ø 1969. Lunn Gallery. Washington, DC, USA.
Ø 1969. Gallery of Visual Arts. Maracay, Venezuela.
Ø 1970. Venezuelan Cultural Week. Miami and Jamaica.
Ø 1972. Two Rivers Gallery. Binghampton, New York City, USA.
Ø 1972. Moos Gallery. Montreal, Canada.
Ø 1973. Spoleto Festival. Italy.
Ø 1974. Young Artists, Union Carbide Building. New York City, USA.
Ø 1975. Government of Caracas. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1975. Graphic VII, Mendoza Gallery. Caracas Venezuela.
Ø 1976. Brooke Alexander Gallery. New York City, USA.
Ø 1977. Denise Rene Gallery. New York City, USA.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Thomas Arthur Robertson (1911-1976) was the son of an attorney. Although his father, a co-owner of the Arkansas Law School, insisted that his son study there, after graduating, Robertson enrolled at the Adrian Brewer...
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Previously Available Items
Lt. Ed. Skate deck (Blue with blue back) with embossed COA, hand signed by RETNA
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RETNA
Skate deck (Blue with green back) with embossed COA, hand signed by RETNA, 2018
Limited Edition Silkscreen on Maplewood skatedeck with blue colored back. Accompanied by Hand signed Certificate of Authenticity on Embossed Letterhead.
32 × 8 1/2 inches
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Retna prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic RETNA prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by RETNA in screen print, wood, mixed media and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the street art style. Not every interior allows for large RETNA prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of CB Hoyo, Denial, and Jeremy Geddes. RETNA prints and multiples prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,500 and tops out at $10,000, while the average work can sell for $2,800.
Artists Similar to RETNA
Questions About RETNA Prints and Multiples
- What is RETNA art?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMay 14, 2024RETNA art is the name of art produced by the artist RETNA. Born Marquis Lewis on March 24, 1979, in Los Angeles, California, he joined the city’s mural scene as a teenager. He was especially inspired by local graffiti and adopted the name RETNA from a Wu-Tang Clan song as his artist’s tag. In the mid-1990s, he began making murals on walls, trains and freeway overpasses throughout the city, later transforming from a street artist to a break-out star in the contemporary art world. Retna has also collaborated with major fashion brands, including Nike, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Helmut Lang. Explore a variety of RETNA art on 1stDibs.
- What kind of artist is RETNA?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertFebruary 1, 2024What kind of artist RETNA is depends on what stage of his career you're considering. Growing up in Los Angeles, RETNA was mesmerized by the graffiti that surrounded him. He began practicing the art form and adopted the name RETNA from a Wu-Tang Clan song. In the mid-1990s, he began making murals on walls, trains and freeway overpasses throughout the city. RETNA later transformed from a street artist into a break-out star in the contemporary art world. At first glance, RETNA's prints and paintings look like an undiscovered ancient script. He has created an original alphabet, fusing together influences from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Arabic, Asian calligraphy, graffiti, blackletter, Roman lettering and Hebrew. Shop a selection of RETNA art on 1stDibs.
- What does RETNA’s art mean?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022What RETNA's art means is largely a matter of personal interpretation. The graffiti artist's intention is to spark conversations with his street art that incorporates elements of Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Hebrew and Arabic calligraphy. You'll find a variety of RETNA art on 1stDibs.