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“Abstract Art is based on real objects in space and the artist’s interpretation of them”

Anthony Ausgang, born Anthony Charles Grant Thompson in Trinidad and Tobago in 1959, is a painter and writer who lives and works in Los Angeles. He is one of the leading artists associated with the Lowbrow art movement, which he has been part of since its early days.

His family moved to Houston, Texas in the early 1960s. His bold, psychedelic paintings feature cartoon animals that explore timeless themes related to the human condition. His work is characterized by its vibrant colors and surreal, dreamlike quality.

Artistic style:

Ausgang’s paintings often depict “psychedelic, wide eyed” cats “with a kind of evil look in their eyes”. The protagonists of his paintings are these cartoon-like cat figures that serve as vehicles for Ausgang to examine timeless human themes.

His unique style emerged from his involvement in the Lowbrow art movement, which originated in Los Angeles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Lowbrow art is characterized by its use of popular culture imagery, punk rock attitude, and underground comics influences. Ausgang has been considered one of the “first major wave of lowbrow artists” to show in Los Angeles during this formative period of the movement.

Beyond his Lowbrow roots, Ausgang’s bold, imaginative paintings demonstrate a level of technical skill and artistic vision that transcends the underground origins of the style. As one interviewer noted, “the true essence of his art comes from within” and is about “questioning and communicating what it means to be human”. Despite his lack of formal art training, Ausgang has developed a distinctive and highly recognizable visual style that has earned him acclaim within the Lowbrow scene and beyond.

Most important works:

His early 1980s paintings helped establish him as a leading artist in the Lowbrow art movement. These paintings featured his signature “psychedelic, wide eyed cats with a kind of evil look in their eyes” that served as vehicles for exploring timeless human themes.

His cover art for the 2010 MGMT album “Congratulations”, which was described as “an eye grabbing illustration that could easily be found on a Grateful Dead release circa 1974” and was nominated for Best Art Vinyl of the Year by NME.

His 2011 design of the Christmas windows for the La Rinascente Department Store in Milan, featuring larger-than-life three-dimensional models of his trademark psychedelic cartoon cats.

His first fiction book “The Sleep of Puss Titter: A Lysenkoist Life in the Random-Word Generation” published by KeroseneBomb in 2011.

His artwork has been featured in several anthologies and publications about the Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism art movements, including “Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art” and “Pop Surrealism”.

Exhibitions:

Chevelure a la Francois at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles.

The work is available for sale on Artsy for $600.

Un Chat Andalou at Galerie Yves Laroche in Canada. The exhibition will feature Ausgang’s newest production and will run from June 7th to July 5th, 2024.