By Wayne Melton
Reno Gazette-Journal, January 1999
Emerging from the eclectic, brightly
hued world of Andy Warhol, Steve Kaufman has established himself
across the globe as a leading creator of pop art.
Paintings created by Kaufman, a former
assistant to Warhol, hang in the homes of celebrities such as
Jay Leno and Muhammad Ali. Kaufman will make three public appearances
today and Saturday in Reno to help promote his participation
in Addi Galleries' Web site invites browsers to examine Kaufman's
work and purchase posters.
Based in Reno, operators of Addi Galleries's
Internet site are ecstatic to have Kaufman participate in the
venture.
"Steve Kaufman will be our feature
artist to bring us even more traffic to Gallery Row," said
Steve Addi, the company's owner.
Kaufman's work hangs in more than
600 galleries spanning the United States , Japan and Europe.
He also has work in Warner Bros. stores.
His international popularity first
began in the 70's, when he served as a Warhol protege.
"I did not even know who Andy
Warhol was when he hired me – and maybe that's' why he
did it," Kaufman said.
By the late 70's, Kaufman was doing
portraits shown weekly during the original years of NBC-TV's
"Saturday Night Live."
Those images of quest stars garnered
Kaufman international acclaim and art awards. He admits the
works took little effort to create. But he says people made
a big deal of it because it was a new art method.
To create "SNL" images –
show briefly before commercial breaks – he took photos
of celebrities, duplicated the shots on copy machines and used
various marking methods to enhance those images.
Kaufman won a contest New York City
sponsored to find its "Artist of the Millennium."
Owners of two competing Reno art stores
said there are many deserving artists.
While Kaufman is talented, it's difficult
to think one artist should get that designation, said Donna
Marie Antraccoli, co-owner of Reno's Hermitage Gallery. She's
familiar with Kaufman's motorcycle paintings and likes them,
but does'nt recall seeing any of his paintings on canvas.
Mark Richardson, owner of Reno's Richardson
Gallery of Fine Art, doesn't carry Kaufman's works
"He hasn't appealed to me as
being different enough to put in this gallery," Richardson
said. "It's matter of taste. He is doing things that are
different as far as colors – slightly different that is,
than Warhol or Peter Max. But it's not all that different."
Nonetheless, Addi official are banking
on their association with Kaufman, due largely to his widespread
popularity and continued strong sales. While keeping its seven
galleries in the Western United States privately owned, Addi
plans to spin off its Internet site into a publicly traded company
this year.
Many of Kaufman's best-known works
will be offered for sale through Gallery Row.
Gallery Row visitors can access information
on its feature artists as well as arts gatherings and museums
worldwide. And artists and arts-related organizations worldwide
are beginning to sign on so they can be seen on a single site
people will want to use, said Douglas "Doogie" Collins,
a financial adviser and marketing consultant for Addi.
Kaufman has draw. At a recent arts
show in Japan , more than 30,000 people lined up to meet Kaufman
or see his work. Some of Kaufman's original work's or prints
sell from $5,000 to $10,000.
"I just found out today that
I will probably be doing Al Pacino's portrait," Kaufman
said during a brief phone interview this week as he prepared
for his Reno visit. "What an honor it was to be chosen."
Kaufman's latest deal comes as the
U.S. Postal Service considers issuing 33-cent stamps embossed
with his Sinatra portraits. Those were only portraits the late
singer authorized of himself; Sinatra kept the portraits by
his bedside in the last months of his life.
"Iam a workaholic," Kaufman
said. "Everyone gets annoyed, eventually, with me. It's
worth the work."
Kaufman will bring a painted motorcycle
to Addi Galleries in the Reno Hilton. The Harley Davidson is
entitled "Doger Harley," detailed for the Los Angeles
Dodger's baseball team; it's usually on display at Dodger Stadium.
Steve High, Nevada Museum of Art executive
director believes Kaufman's works will help add to northwest
Nevada's growing reputation as a high-quality area for the arts.
"We' d be happy and pleased to
accept such a gift into our permanent collection," Steve
High, museum executive director, said of the work Kaufman will
donate to the museum at his appearance Friday.
