Silkscreen on (Arches) paper by Carl Beam – Titled: Pop Art portrait – Celine, (Celine Dion), 2000-2001

Original limited edition  fine art print by Carl Beam. Titled: Celine, 2000-2001 (Celine Dion) one of a series of 8 Pop Art portraits 

Silkscreen on Arches paper signed, titled and numbered in pencil on lower margins. One of an edition of 200 signed, titled and numbered silkscreens.

Dimensions:  :  Paper sheet: 76.2 x 56 cm – 30 x 22 in. (Plate) Image:  68.5 x 51 cm – 28 x 20 in

Work is not framed.

Note:

In his Portrait of Céline Dion, Carl Beam employs pop art silkscreen techniques to question the construction of cultural icons and how media images shape collective identity. While the work adopts an aesthetic reminiscent of Andy Warhol—bold colors, potential repetition, and a frontal portrait—Beam subverts this visual language, transforming it into a critical tool rather than a simple homage to celebrity. Silkscreen printing allows him to reproduce a photographic image of Céline Dion with mechanical precision, while simultaneously introducing variations in texture, ink density, and transparency that disrupt the icon’s legibility. Unlike traditional pop art, which often celebrates the star as a cultural product, Beam uses Dion’s figure as a symbol of Canadian popular culture, placing it in tension with the identity and historical issues that permeate his entire body of work.

The image, though familiar, is deliberately destabilized: the layers of ink, the areas of erasure, and the superimpositions inherent to his technique create a critical distance between the celebrity and her representation. Beam does not seek to glorify Céline Dion, but rather to show how a media figure can become a vehicle for cultural projection, a mirror of national aspirations or identity constructions. By integrating this portrait into a larger series, he draws a parallel between the creation of popular icons and that of historical narratives, reminding us that all images—whether political, colonial, or pop—contribute to the construction of collective memory. Thus, this silkscreen print transcends the confines of portraiture: it becomes a commentary on the circulation of images, on the power of the silkscreen medium, and on how societies transform individuals into symbols.

Artwork is not available anymore! Sold – Thank you.

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