“Donkey Head” (2018)
by ASVP (Simon Grendene, 1976-) (Victor Anselmi, 1973-)
50 x 70 cm, silkscreen and paint on paper (#1 in an edition of 10)
Coppola Collection

I have a small but treasured corner of my collection devoted to the work of the so-called Street Artists, all the intellectual and artistic step-children of Banksy, FAILE, and Fairey.

Check out streetart.com for one of the most comprehensive listings I know of. The andenken gallery in Amsterdam represents a nice group of higher end members of this community, including Evan Hecox (andenken.com).

ASVP is an artistic duo based in Bushwick, Brooklyn. As it true for many of these artists, they create work that is a mix of graphic (hand painted) illustrations that often contains elements from advertising, pop and comic book culture.

In 2008, ASVP Studio was created as an artistic partnership between Simon Grendene and Victor Anselmi. Having roots in Commercial Art & Advertising Design, ASVP knew how to develop an iconic, graphic language from the outset of their work together. Due to this, ASVP quickly became an established and recognizable name in the Street Art scene in New York and around the world.

From the beginning, they produced handmade paste-ups, posting thousands of them in public spaces across the world. They have provided many immense murals on the sides of buildings in New York and elsewhere around the world.

This silk print contains a collage of ASVP’s legacy images (see “Space Baby” below) that were pasted on city streets around the world between 2009-2013. In the foreground we see one of the most iconic figures of ASVP. The “Donkey Head” can be traced to some of ASVP’s earliest works. Among enthusiasts this singular image has become the symbol that represents the duo and their art.

“Space Baby (dark blue)” (2010)
by ASVP (Simon Grendene, 1976-) (Victor Anselmi, 1973-)
20 x 30 cm, mixed media on paper
Coppola Collection