Art of the Deal 1995

Mark Kostabi painted “Art of the Deal” in 1995, and look at those colours—electric blue, deep red, and bright yellow figures. It’s a powerful combination. You know, I can imagine Kostabi having a clear idea, but then, like all of us painters, getting completely derailed! He's probably thinking about the absurdities of human interaction, right? These stylized figures in a strangely artificial scene, with a mousetrap smack in the middle, are a bit scary. Is it about the risks we take when making a deal, or the traps we set for each other? The flat, almost graphic style gives it a kind of cool, detached feeling, but the high-key colours ramp up the emotional intensity, which is a wild contrast. Kostabi's paintings are fascinating. You know, we're all influencing each other, bouncing ideas around across time, and finding new ways to express our own experience of the world.