Description

My original fine, fine art for sale here in my website shop? Why not?

I have selected some pieces from various bodies of my work that seems to me can be represented well in this format and are sized/priced on the smaller/lower ends of the spectrum compared to the rest of my work. I hope that this will fill the desperate need of my public to fill their souls and homes with certified LKO’s (Larry Krone Originals) made by hand with thought and love by me.

*BONUS! Every LKO purchased comes with its own official signed, stamped, stickered, and numbered “Welcome to My World” CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY!*

• Then and Now (Molly X-mas #5 (Flying Santa))
• 2020
• Sequins from Todd Oldham archive on cross stitch project by Molly Pope in the 1990’s
• 14 x 17”

In Then and Now (Molly X-mas #5 (Flying Santa)), a cross-stitch project made 25 years ago by my friend Molly Pope as a young girl is blanketed with hand-applied sequins. This represents the collaboration between my friend today, her in the past, designer Todd Oldham (from whose 1990’s fashion archives the sequins came), and me. Molly’s choice of imagery as a girl was hyper feminine Victorian scenes with ribbons, bows and teacups—plus a lot of Christmas imagery, while Todd’s sequins were grouped in combinations that evoke his signature bold, irreverent 1990’s style. My “Then and Now” pieces that result showcase more explicitly the idea of individual identity I strive for, as our three aesthetics take turns coming to the forefront and, at times, blend to create a cohesive new whole.

This was a real lesson for me in the power of Christmas imagery. I am not a fan of Christmas, particularly the way it has been accepted as an integral part of our American culture in blatant disregard of the millions of us who are not Christian. So, my idea was to blow everybody’s minds and subvert the Santa, angels, and tree in my friend Molly’s adolescent holiday cross-stitches, turning them into a celebration of craft and questionable taste and leaving the Christmas content in the background. But I’m pretty sure I just made my own Christmas-themed art despite myself.

Then and Now (Molly X-mas #5 (Flying Santa)) is part of my ongoing “Then and Now” series which uses found craft projects and materials as conceptually loaded raw materials with which I create new, contemporary fine art masterpieces.  With “Then and Now” (2007-present), I use these rescued objects and materials as metaphors for identity. I find presumed and actual identifiers of the locations, histories, cultural backgrounds, classes, personalities, and skills of the people who made the crafted items that I use, combining the disparate pieces while celebrating the assertion of each complex individual identity even in the most seemingly united, congruous whole.

Each piece comes to me fully embroidered by the original—usually anonymous—craftspeople. I then join it with one, a few, ten, thirty, or hundreds of other individual pieces of embroidery and needlework of various themes, styles, and qualities of workmanship before I, in a gesture of collaboration and a testament to the preciousness and beauty of each individual element, finish it by applying the sequins one-by-one to fill in every area of fabric left unadorned by the original craftspeople.  

If you are interested in this piece and would like to see more photos, ask questions, or would care to schedule a time to visit my studio (virtually or in person), please do not hesitate to reach out: BigLar678@gmail.com

NOTICE ABOUT SHIPPING!! Sales through the website will be made with no shipping cost. If you live in New York City, pick up or free delivery by me can be arranged, If you live farther, we can agree on a shipping carrier and potential costs that will be at the buyer’s expense.