ARTE GONE VIRAL

Dodorye Art show 2015

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Buys Rare Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita For $4.8 Million USD

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has added to his already impressive collection of cars with a super-rare and expensive Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. One of only two in the world, Floyd’s new ride was unveiled on his instagram in typical understated fashion, the boxing star announcing, “My new 4.8 Million dollar car. $4,800,000.00 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita supercar. KOENIGSEGG Is An ULTRA Boutique Automobile Manufacturer For The Super Rich.”

Artist that are taking over the game!

27 on the 27th Traver Dodorye

Traver Dodorye turns 27 on August 27th! Coming from a dark past and a tough childhood life and working on becoming a successful artist. Traver sits down and speaks on his journey and what life means to him as he mature as a family man, an artist and a human. Coming up in the 80's was tough but it's weird because today we have more but our generation and people aren't inspired by what we used to be inspired by. The world is full of materialistic things and people. In the 80's people were threatened by people now it's change! We fear change so much because we've become so immune to what we are used to.   A couple of things that changed my vision on life, High school, meeting the love of my life, my mother being hurt by another man and her going into a shell for 2 years, trying to establish myself in my art career. Finding myself as an artist and a father and a family man was my hardest journey. I love change but adapting to it is the hardest part. I believe that everyone deserves to grow and growth comes with change. I've experienced a lot in life and learned a lot and have so much more to learn. Art and my art career has taught me things like presentation is everything, Relationship means more then conversations, and  taking risks are key! My son has taught me patience is key, change and growth comes within time, and love is always love! My relationship has taught me strength, Devoting yourself to something means shutting out other things and have to always keep faith! 

Traver Dodorye Art show 9/29/15

Bad Banker's $8 Million Basquiat Smuggled With Shipping Invoice for $100 Returns Home

After years of forfeiture litigation, US officials held a repatriation ceremony yesterday to announce the return of two major works to Brazil—Jean Michel Basquiat's Hannibal (1981) painting, and a Roman togatus statue.

The two works were once owned by Brazilian financier Edemar Cid Ferreira, founder and former president of Banco Santos, who was convicted in 2006 of crimes against the national financial system as well as money laundering. He is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence.

"The painting and the statue were smuggled into the United States in violation of customs law and were forfeited to the government as a result of civil forfeiture action brought by the United States," according to a release from Preet Bharara of the US District Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York.

As part of the case a Sao Paulo judge had ordered the search, seizure and confiscation of assets from Ferreira, his associates, and other family members that were acquired with illegally obtained funds from Banco Santos. Along with the Basquiat and togatus statue—the latter being a statue of a masculine toga-clad figure—the US earlier returned work including a Roy Lichtenstein, a painting by Joaquin Torres Garcia, a Serge Poliakoff and other works with an estimated value of $20 million to $30 million.

At the time they were ordered seized, the works were believed to have been kept in several locations, including Ferreira's home in Sao Paulo, the main offices of Bancos Santos, and at a holding facility. But when Brazilian authorities searched these locations, they found that the works, including the Basquiat and statue, were missing.

Having cooperated with Interpol, US authorities discovered that the Basquiat and the togatus statue were shipped from the Netherlands to a secure storage facility in New York in August and September 2007, respectively. Invoices failed to comply with US customs laws in several respects—the most glaring of which was that the pieces were not identified, and that each was labeled to be worth $100. In fact, the statue alone has an appraised value of $100,000, and the Basquiat painting is currently estimated at $8 million.

According to the artnet Price Database, the work was sold once at auction—at Christie's New York in May 1993, where it sold for $79,500, on an estimate of $75,000–$95,000, and a fraction of its current worth. Prices for Basquiat have soared in tandem with the broader contemporary art boom in the last decade or so. The current record of $48.8 million for Dustheads (1982) was set at Christie's New York in May 2013 (estimate: $25–35 million).

Bharara stated at yesterday's ceremony: "Art and antiquities have special value and meaning that cannot readily be quantified. As a result they have long been the subject of theft and deception, as well as a means to launder illicit proceeds. Art…should not be allowed to become a conduit for crime."

5 WEALTHIEST STREET ARTISTS WHO KNOW HOW TO EARN THEIR LIVING

Top 10• Maximilian Braun

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When we began the research on this topic we wanted to present a Top 10 list of the richest street artist. After hours of research we reached the verdict that this will become a Top 5 list. Not our fault, really, it seems that street artists aren’t really that big on communicating their net worth. Although we were quite disappointed when we found this to be the case, we also understood why  this is so. Graffiti and street art originates from a subculture that opposes commercial reward for art. Moreover, usually the wealthiest are the target for the street artists criticism and ridicule. The idea of street art being transient public art that everyone can enjoy for free, makes being a millionaire undesirable for street artists. That is not our opinion by the way, but a presumed reason for street artists not to reveal how much money they earn. We excluded late artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring or DONDI from this list because it is unfortunately not their wealth now. We can assume that many of graffiti’s legends like Futura, SEEN or Lady Pink have also made big dough over the years but not enough to make it in the list of street art’s millionaire club. The best thing about it all is that mountains of cash say nothing about the artistic brilliance of artists.

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RETNA - ESTIMATED NET WORTH: €3.62 MIL

There is no official listing of Retna’s net worth, however, his catalog speaks its own language. His originals begin at around €15.000 at galleries. As Retna’s shows are regular sell-outs, a presumptions spanning the 200K per show are reasonable. Retna paints commissioned murals for hip-hop superstar Usher, that are sure to spill in another 100K.  The 2013 Artist Scarf collaboration with French fashion house Louis Vuitton was probably also a very lucrative deal. The same goes for the commissioned mural he painted on the Bombardier €40 million Global Express XRS jet. Retna’s signature typo-graffiti conveys this unique aesthetic that makes his art very desirable for collectors worldwide. It is, therefore, no surprise that Retna found himself among the top 5 wealthiest street artists.

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MR. BRAINWASH - ESTIMATED NET WORTH: €7.25 MIL

The Frenchman Thierry Guetta aka Mr. Brainwash began his professional career as a photographer and filmographer. This career choice lead him into the venture with the British street artist Banksy. This venture produced the best-known street art documentary Exit Through The Giftshop. Banksy’s already big name in the realm of urban art was to become the biggest name in street art as a result. But also Thierry Guetta was a huge benefactor of this Academy Award nominated documentary. Banksy convinced Thierry Guetta to become a street artist himself and Mr. Brainwash was born. Mr. Brainwash puts on a show he names Life is Beautiful and virtually becomes an overnight millionaire. The profits of the exhibition are reported to have been €1 million. Adding that to the other sell out shows and the huge commercial success of Exit Through The Giftshop, the wealth of Mr. Brainwash sums up to roughly estimated €7.25.

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SHEPARD FAIREY - ESTIMATED NET WORTH: €10 MIL

The Obey Giant is the street art’s equivalent of Jay Z. Shepard Fairey is an artist with great entrepreneurial skills. Starting off with Andre the Giant Has a Posse posters, the American artist has built an empire from the ground. His progressive street style earned him the design for the 2008 Obama election campaign. From there, there was no stopping the giant. Shepard Fairey collaborated with Urban Outfitters to produce and sell his own fashion line at their stores. Just think about how many Obey caps or tees you’ve seen in the last couple of years and you can begin to fathom the unbelievable success story of the Obey brand. While keeping this in mind also think about the starting prices for his originals (20K) and his gallery space in LA Subliminal Projects and you will have calculated a sum of around €10 million.

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BANKSY - ESTIMATED NET WORTH: €15 MIL

Most people would expect the world famous, yet infamous Banksy to be the wealthiest street artist. No, he is not, someone else is, but we’ll get to that. Banksy obviously had his first commercial success with the documentary Exit Through the Giftshop. It is our sincere hope, but also reasonable assumption that he earned more money with the movie than anyone else (Thierry Guetta). However, even more valuable than the earnings from ticket sales, was the mass recognition that Banksy received. The prices for his artworks skyrocketed, with the most expensive painting achieving over €1.5 million at an auction. The original artworks lie anywhere between €20.000 – €250.000 at galleries. This amounts to a net worth of €15 million.

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DAVID CHOE - ESTIMATED NET WORTH: €150 MIL

How this happened, I have no idea but the art world is a funny place; so is Facebook. And doing a mural at FB in lieu of money for shares is pretty f-ing hilarious. As my mother would say about Choe, “He’s okay at painting, but more crazy than anything else. Maybe people are just looking for crazy? Someone should pray for him…” Apparently, my mom is an excellent prayer.

We wanted the words of street art genius (and his mother) to speak for themselves first before we begin our written praises. David Choe is a genius. In 2005, David Choe was approached by the media startup Facebook. Facebook had just moved up the office space ladder and commissioned Choe to paint a large mural at their new headquarters. For his time and effort they wanted to pay him $60.000. Choe, however opted that he’d rather have 3.7 million in shares of the company instead. When Facebook enlisted at the stock exchange the shares were valued at $56 each. And so David Choe who had been homeless for several months of his life became the richest street artist there is thanks to his nose for business. There is no one else than him that deserves it more. One last remark, David Choes didn’t just sit on the money; instead he worked, moderated, painted, filmed and documented to earn even more money. That’s how its done.