The Thief Star

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Ludwig Museum, Cologne (Germany).

A vivid example of the philosophical painting of James Rosenquist of the 1980s, The Thief Star was created for the airport terminal in Miami, but for several reasons did not reach its destination. Instead, it was bought by a private collector and resold to the Ludwig German Museum for three times the original amount of money. The main idea embedded in this canvas is the unattainability of a dream, which is akin to the stars: the closer you get to it, the brighter it becomes, and the more attracts you. According to the artist himself, “star-thief” is “the star that abducts and leads you along a certain path, twists you and sometimes draws you to voids”.