Wild Thing (Felix)
According to the artist’s estate: “Spiller always admired the tradition of portrait paintings but didn’t want to paint portraits of people a viewer wouldn’t know, preferring to portray instantly-recognizable characters. To him, these characters were as important and as worthy of a place in history as, say, kings and queens by Gainsborough or a self-portrait by Rembrandt.
Spiller felt that these crazy entertainers deserved their place in the history of art. Cartoons have entertained millions of people throughout the 20th century, and Spiller loved that pop culture relatability. He always marveled at how these iconic characters transgressed age, language, and continents. They transported him back to his childhood. He always said we shouldn’t lose our inner childlike qualities of wonder and surprise.”
Year: 2015
Medium: Acrylic and pencil on stitched canvas panels
Hand signed, dated, and titled on verso
Size: 33 x 39.5 in (83.8 x 100.3 cm)
Frame size: 34.375 x 40.75 in (87.3 x 104 cm)
Provenance: From the artist's Estate to Long-Sharp Gallery