Original artwork description:

Sly pokes fun at art and money and fashion and fame!

These are not prints, as each is individually painted and signed to order and consequently will vary slightly from the illustrated picture. These paintings are sprayed onto a handmade "Urbox,” or urban box, covered in newspaper cuttings and are handmade by people who wish to work to supplement their income. The boxes measure 59x76x4 cm, look really cool, rough with an urban feel, and are ready to hang, so there is no need to buy an expensive frame.

(Also available on The Daily Telegraph, watercolour paper or plain paper at various prices if you search elsewhere.)


Art & Commercialism
(or Damien’s dotty, spotty, puppy dawg.)
by Juan Sly.

Damien had a little dawg,
Its fur was white as snow,
Everywhere that Damien went
The dawg was sure to go.

He painted it with spots one day,
Which was rather cruel,
That made the critics laugh and say;
“He’s dotty as a fool.”

But then the public, it turned out,
Came from far, and neared,
They waited patiently about
But no dawg appeared.

“Where’s Dotty, Spotty, Puppy Dawg?”
The worried public cried.
“The gift shop has got loads, to flog,”
Damien replied.


Juan Sly is likely the biggest seller of original artwork in the UK. An artist exhibiting in spray stencils, newspaper and oils, he has exhibited at the Saatchi (a proper gallery with pillars and everything!) alongside the likes of Banksy, Terry O'Neil, Tracy Emin and Vic Reeves, and has permanent collections in Ireland, Detroit and England, alongside Damien Hirst and some other artists you might have heard of, plus private collections around the globe. His works rock from humour to anti-war, sex to surreal. He is particularly fond of the stencil medium as it allows him to respond quickly to events and ideas and gives his works a gritty, illegal look. The stencils naturally allow the works to be resprayed, and consequently become affordable and disposable. He likes the fact that people can buy art which they like, and not to show off how much they can afford. You can find them in bedsits, legal offices in the Temple or stuck to a fence in Bristol.

Spiel by Steeve.

Materials used:

Spray on box 59x76x4cm

Tags: