



Heavy Lifting
2026
Heavy Lifting is a large scale mixed media work on paper by Kozo, combining hyperrealistic graphite rendering of a classical bust wrapped in a plastic bag with bold spray painted Keith Haring inspired figures who appear to physically support the weighty sculptural form. The composition layers photorealistic detail with street art iconography, incorporating collaged stickers including an I Love NY logo and a smiley face, a painted pigeon perched atop the bag, and the inscribed text NO RAIN NO FLOWERS and I WAS CREATED TO CREATE. Kozo executed the work using tattoo ink applied via a coil tattoo machine, a signature technique that gives the imagery an unusually dense and tactile quality. This edition 1 of 15 work is pencil signed by the artist and presented in a white frame.
- Medium
- Mixed media on canvas
- Dimensions
- Edition
- 1 of 15
- Signed
- Yes
- List Price
- $18,500
- Spotted At
- Online
Notes
Work features the text 'I WAS CREATED TO CREATE' on the bag wrapping the classical bust. The artist's unique technique involves tattooing imagery using a coil tattoo machine with the needle integrated into the piece itself. Artist is based in a private studio in Brooklyn and exhibits in galleries worldwide.
For Sale
More by Kozo
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.
Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion