If you are at all familiar with the work of artist Vik Muniz, you know it's not unusual for him to use such a bizarre medium as garbage, literally, in his artwork. In this beautiful limited edition ashtray, Muniz takes the classic 1818 painting by Caspar David Friedrich, The Wanderer, and recreates it in ashes and cigarette butts which was then photographed and screened into porcelain.
Caspar David Friedrich's The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818):
Muniz drew the image with ashes and butts, originally in 1999. He then photographed the image and had it screened onto a beautiful porcelain ashtray made at Limoges in Bernardaud, France. The rim of the ashtray is then hand-painted in silver leaf.
Vik Muniz, Untitled ashtray, 1999
Screen printed photograph on Limoges porcelain with hand-painted silver trim
1¾ h. x 7½ x 6½ inches,
Published by the Peter Norton Family Christmas Project.*
Produced in a limited edition
Priced at $650. You can order it by contacting info@artwareeditions.com
Or for $500 (and 20% off right now), you can buy it at the MoMa store here
*Each year since 1988, art collector, software entrepreneur, and MoMA trustee Peter Norton has commissioned an art edition to celebrate the Christmas season and holidays. Created by artists represented in the Nortons’ own collection, and sent as gifts to personal friends and members of the art community, these art objects are designed to be interactive and playful, and to foster engagement with the world of contemporary art.