Jazz, 1947 Skate Deck by Henri Matisse

This skateboard deck comes ready to hang with mounting hardware and is limited edition. 

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This solo edition is related to elements of Henri Matisse’s “Jazz” – a book of illustrations which he began creating in 1942. Initially inspired by the iconography of the circus, the publication was ultimately exploring the relationship between art and musical improvisation, featuring themes of folklore, mythology and travels. 

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The overwhelming use of blue in this works was not accidental. To the artist, it symbolized volume and distance. It was also a remnant of his early Fauvist practice, relying on contrasting colors, bold lines and structure. What may appear as a simplistic final product was, in fact, a painstaking and rigorous journey, seeking to achieve the “art of balance, of purity and serenity.”

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Our partners at The Skateroom donate a significant part of their profit to support social initiatives that make the world a better place.  

These skateboard decks come ready to hang with mounting hardware and are limited edition. 

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After a major surgery for a benign intestinal tumor, Henri Matisse was bedridden and unable to continue with his regular routine of painting and sculpture. The “cut-outs” became his preferred technique, requiring only scissors and gouache-painted paper prepared by a team of assistants. Often focusing on human silhouettes, inspired by his collection of African sculptures and trips to Tahiti, Henri Matisse would carefully arrange pieces of paper into intricate compositions, miraculously achieving a sense of volume and movement on the flat surface of the page. This is the case of “Blue Nude II”, one of the most recognizable pieces from the eponymous series, available now as a skate art triptych. 

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The overwhelming use of blue in this works was not accidental. To the artist, it symbolized volume and distance. It was also a remnant of his early Fauvist practice, relying on contrasting colors, bold lines and structure. What may appear as a simplistic final product was, in fact, a painstaking and rigorous journey, seeking to achieve the “art of balance, of purity and serenity.”

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Our partners at The Skateroom donate a significant part of their profit to support social initiatives that make the world a better place.  

This skateboard deck comes ready to hang with mounting hardware and is open edition. Each edition features a screen-print signature.

The face of a masked Cindy Sherman appears from a tomblike bed of stones in this dark and fantastical solo edition. The horned creature is bathed in ominous blue light and seems to be staring at the viewer through gaping eyes. Around it lies an abandoned bra, contributing to the mystery of the scene. Is this a devilish omen, a vision of death or maybe something more mystical altogether? As always, the artist allows us to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the work and let our imagination run free. 

Our partners at The Skateroom, who collaborated with Sherman for this edition, donate a significant part of their profit to support social initiatives that make the world a better place.  

This triptych, featuring a detail from Untitled #414 Clown, includes three skateboard decks and comes ready to hang with simple mounting hardware and instructions.  Top print features a hand-signed signature by Cindy Sherman.

Cindy Sherman's (b. 1954) ground-breaking photographs have interrogated themes around representation and identity in contemporary media for over forty years. In Untitled #414 Clown, Sherman is shown manipulating her pose, gesture, costume, and makeup to create portraits of herself as a clown. Staged with dramatic lighting and vivid color, these portraits are equally horrifying and humorous.

 

Our partners at The Skateroom who collaborated with artist Cindy Sherman to make this edition, donate a significant part of their profit to support social initiatives that make the world a better place. For each edition sold, part of the proceeds are donated to support Free Movement Skateboarding, an international organization that provides skateboarding lessons, creative workshops, and education for youth in Athens.