CRANSTON, R.I. – Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers is actively seeking quality consignments for its first-ever sale dedicated entirely to Pop Culture, Street Art, Urban Art and Unusual Art, slated for Saturday, May 12th, online and in the Bruneau & Co. gallery located at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston, starting at 11 am Eastern time. The deadline for consignment submissions is April 13th.

“We’re so serious about wanting to become a major player in this field that, for this auction only, we’re advertising commission rates on a graduated scale, starting at 10 percent for items that hammer for up to $1,000, and zero percent for items that sell for more than $5,000,” said Kevin Bruneau, president and auctioneer of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. “That’s a huge incentive.”

Bruneau said the May 12th auction serves as a hand-in-glove complement to the firm’s toy and comic auctions, of which many have already been held and a nice one is scheduled for Saturday, April 28th. Consignments for that event are being accepted thru March 30th. The sale will include Sub-Mariner Comics #40 and Batman #44, plus a 1985 Star Wars POTF AT-AT Drive AFA 85.

For the May auction, Bruneau is especially interested in attracting works by the American Pop Artist and designer KAWS (real name: Brian Donnelly, b. 1974), to include originals, prints, all vinyl figures and sculptures. “Essentially, we want everything KAWS,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer whose area of expertise is Street and Urban Art. “We’ve already secured a large collection of KAWS figures that collectors will find very interesting.”

KAWS began his career in the 1990s as a graffiti artist, moving on to “subvertising” and later sculptures, acrylic paintings on canvas and screen prints. He also collaborates commercially, predominantly on limited edition toys, as well as clothing, skate decks and other products. His work is exhibited in galleries and museums. Items by him are highly sought after by collectors.

Landry stressed that Bruneau & Co. is seeking “all Urban and Street Art works, plus limited collectibles from various certain artists.” These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Takashi Murakamki (Japanese, b. 1962), a contemporary artist who works in fine arts media, mostly painting and sculpture, as well as commercial media, such as fashion, merchandise and animation. He blurred the line between high and low art, and coined the term superflat, which describes aspects of Japanese artistic traditions, culture and society.
• Banksy (birth date and identity unknown), the anonymous English-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director. Banksy’s searing, satirical street art creations and subversive epigrams combine dark humor with graffiti, which he executes in a unique and distinctive stenciling technique. His works can be seen on streets, walls and bridges.
• Daniel Arsham (Am., b. 1980), the contemporary American artist who lives and works in New York City. Arsham’s multidisciplinary practice challenges the line between art, architecture and performance. His company Snarkitecture features work with fashion brands, interior and architectural design, and a complete line of functional design objects.
•  Invader (b. 1969), the pseudonym of a French urban artist whose artwork is modeled on the crude pixellations of the video games from the 1970s and 1980s. He took his name from the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders, and much of his work is composed of square ceramic tiles inspired by video game characters. Like Banksy, he prefers to be incognito.
• Ron English (Am., b. 1959), a contemporary artist who explores brand imagery and advertising. English is best known for his use of color and comic book collage and he’s produced images on the street, in museums, in movies, books and television. He coined the term POPaganda, used to describe a mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones.
• Shepard Fairey (Am., b. 1970), a contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator and founder of OBEY Clothing. Fairey emerged from the skateboarding scene and became widely known during the 2008 presidential election for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster. He may be the best known and most influential of all the street artists.
• OG Slick, the American graffiti artist (born Richard Wyrgatsch) who went on to become one of the most dominant street clothing designers out of Los Angeles, with brands like Shaoliun Worldwide and the current DISSIZIT. He pioneered the street wear movement and his graphic design aesthetic has influenced an entire generation of artists / designers.
• Hajime Sorayama (b. 1947), the Japanese illustrator known for his precisely detailed, erotic portrayals of feminized, bio-mechanoid robots, plus his design work on the original Sony AIBO robotic “pet”. Sorayama describes his highly detailed style as "superrealism", which he says "deals with the technical issue of how close one can get to one's object."

Outside of these and other targeted artists, Bruneau & Co. is also looking for various limited and licensed products, to include BAPE and Supreme, among other high-profile brands. Also sought are deadstock and near-mint examples of Air Jordan, Nike, Adidas, Yeezy and other designer, collaborative and limited collectible footwear. “We want this first Pop Culture auction to be a huge success,” Mr. Bruneau said. “We’re leaving no stone unturned to attract the best out there.”

Internet bidding will be available through Bidlive.Bruneauandco.com, the Bruneau app, eBay, Invaluable.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, ePaiLIVE (Asia), Bidsquare.com and Auctionzip.com.

Download the Bruneau app on Google play and iTunes. Phone and absentee (left) bids will also be accepted. Previews will be held on Thursday, May 10th, from 9-5; on Friday, May 11th, from 12 noon until 9 pm; and on Saturday, May 12th, the date of auction, when the doors open at 8 am.

Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers has announced a new schedule for 2018. There will be no pre-sale with the estate auctions, as before. They will usually be on the first Saturday of each month and will start at 11 am Eastern. Monday night auctions will be held the third Monday of every month.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the Saturday, May 12th auction, visit www.bruneauandco.com. To contact Bruneau & Co. via e-mail, use info@bruneauandco.com.

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