Art of the Deal 1995

Mark Kostabi made this painting, *Art of the Deal*, in 1995, and it really hits you with its bold color palette. The primary hues are so striking. There is a kind of flatness to the figures, which renders the painting as a study of form and a process of reduction. Look at the surface of the painting, particularly the skin of the figures, which looks like it was applied smoothly, almost airbrushed. The contrast between that and the jagged edge of the paper on the mousetrap is stark. It seems like there is a dialogue between the two figures, or rather, the figure with the pen, and the figure without, which maybe makes him trapped? Who is catching who? I think of the work of Giorgio de Chirico when I see this piece, not necessarily the style, but the creation of a psychological atmosphere. Kostabi’s work reminds us that art is an ongoing visual conversation, and that fixed meanings are really just a starting point.