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Work in Progress
2026
Work in Progress is a striking mixed media work by Brooklyn based artist Kozo, featuring a monumental graphite rendering of the Venus de Milo bust overlaid with vivid Keith Haring style figures in pink, blue, green, and gold, climbing ladders, crawling, and playing across the classical form. A three dimensional sculptural element of dripping blue paint cascades from the sculpture's shoulder, bridging the boundary between painting and sculpture. Kozo's signature technique involves tattooing the artwork using a coil tattoo machine, integrating the needle directly into the piece itself. This work is part of Kozo's Nostalgia series, which weaves childhood iconography and pop cultural references into classical art history.
- Medium
- Mixed media on paper with sculptural elements
- Dimensions
- Edition
- 1 of 15
- Signed
- Yes
- List Price
- $18,500
- Spotted At
- Online
Notes
Part of the Nostalgia sculpture and painting series, which interwines toys and childhood nostalgia with classical art. Kozo is based in a private studio in Brooklyn and has a global following surpassing one million. His signature technique involves tattooing the artwork using a coil tattoo machine with the needle integrated into the piece itself. The artwork features a three dimensional blue paint drip sculptural element and Keith Haring style figures. Work is framed in a white frame.
For Sale
Spotted works by Kozo
Artists in conversation
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Japanese · b. 1948
Sugimoto shares Kozo's deeply meditative engagement with time, impermanence, and Zen influenced minimalism, creating works where process and material restraint carry philosophical weight. Both artists work at the intersection of Eastern contemplative tradition and Western conceptual frameworks using spare, refined aesthetics.
Richard Long
British · b. 1945
Long's practice of using natural materials such as mud, stone, and earth applied directly to paper and walls mirrors Kozo's reverence for raw natural substances and meditative process. Both artists foreground the philosophical and tactile relationship between human action and elemental materials.
Cy Twombly
American · b. 1928
Twombly's works on paper share Kozo's interest in mark making as a contemplative and almost calligraphic act, with surfaces that feel both ancient and immediate. His sparse gestural language and reverence for the silence between marks parallel Kozo's wabi sabi inflected minimalism.
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