Rick and Morty‘s co-creator Justin Roiland is expanding his portfolio into the fine arts category. His debut foray into the fine art world sees the illustrator and animator auction of an acrylic-on-canvas painting title, mypeoplefriend with Sotheby’s.
The painting appears to be visually chaotic, accented with dozens of cartoonish characters that connect with audiences through their large, boggling, bug-eyes. The piece is a comment on the dark humor of Rick Sanchez. The vibrant use of multiple colors, including warm oranges and red contrasting with cool blues and greens, help to embrace Roiland’s signature humorous and child-like cartoon imagery.
The artist fills the canvas with a slew of facial expressions that range from grotesque figures with bared fangs to over-exaggerated smiles and excitement. Sotheby’s comments on the figures stating, “There is something tragic about these creatures that try to frighten us but cannot. Or perhaps there is something tragic about our position as viewers, so far removed from the innocence of childhood when these creatures might have frightened us.”
For more information on the piece, check out Sotheby’s.
In other art news, Christie’s is set to auction off an impressionist art collection estimated at over $200 million USD.