133 - STEVEN KOIVISTO. "One Hundred lawless men in a quiet place". Olja på pannå, 107 x 152 cm, oramad. Signerad och daterad Steven Koivisto 1984.

STEVEN KOIVISTO. "One Hundred lawless men in a quiet place". Olja på pannå, 107 x 152 cm, oramad. Signerad och daterad Steven Koivisto 1984. Målningen visas på begäran under visningsperioden. Koivisto emerged in the downtown New York art scene in the 1980s. His work appeared in an innovative group exhibition, guest curated by the artist Robert Longo, "Forced Sentiment", at Artists Space in New York, December 21, 1984-January 12, 1985, which showed the work of seven emerging artists--all of them under 30--involved with appropriating images from popular culture and incorporating mixed-media. In the New York Times review of the exhibition (December 21, 1984), art critic Michael Brenson wrote, "Steven Koivisto uses glowing, sometimes lurid colors and Surrealistic forms in a way that manages to be funny and serious." Koivisto was also active as a creator in the art department of the famous Union Square, New York nightclub Palladium, co-founded by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager (of Studio 54 fame) in 1985, alongside fellow artists Freddy Sutherland and B. Dub (Brian David Williams), collaborating with iconic 1980s art figures like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf. Koivisto's work was also exhibited at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, notably in a group exhibition in June 1985 which also included works by James Nares and Samantha McEwen. The painting "100 Lawless Men in a Quiet Place" captures Koivisto's mid-1980s signature style, with neon sausage-like forms set against a cosmic, surreal, and ominous landscape, the title of the work as enigmatic as the scene that is represented. The painting blends 1980s street art style with a surrealistic vibe that recalls the work of René Magritte (1898-1967).