Art collectors are clamoring to get their hands on the work of a new artist – and when I say ‘new’, I mean he’s only been on the planet for about two years.
That’s right, the newest little Picasso on the block is a two-year-old boy from Bavaria in Germany.
Laurent Schwarz isn’t quite recreating van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, but his abstract pieces of work are good enough to catch the attention of experts who want to do a lot more than just hang his pieces on the fridge.
Laurent has his own little studio. (Instagram/@laurents.art)
Laurent’s mother, Lisa Schwarz, was first alerted to her son’s apparent eye for art during a family vacation in Italy last September, when he became fixated on a painting in the hotel room.
Speaking to The Times, she explained: “Just before Christmas we set up a studio for him and he was in it all the time.”
Laurent began mixing his own paints and creating colorful paintings using brushes, rollers, spatulas and even his own fingers.
“They’re abstracts and what’s unusual is how he integrates discernible figures into them, which people often mention to us and which makes them so popular,” Lisa explained.
“You can clearly recognise his animals, like elephants which are one of his favourite animals, as well as dinosaurs and horses. It’s very important to him that it’s bright and colourful. Brown and other boring colours don’t interest him. He has a very clear ideas about the colours he mixes.”
Laurent’s work has been on display at art fairs. (Instagram/@laurents.art)
It’s a messy process, but Lisa was so proud of what Laurent was creating that she began to upload pictures of his work on Instagram.
“I thought I’d set up a channel because what he was painting looked so nice,” she said. “And that triggered a real hype.”
Before long, Laurent’s Instagram page had almost 30,000 followers, and was being flooded with praise. Recognising she wasn’t the only one impressed by his talent, Lisa decided to put some of Laurent’s artwork up for sale.
The young boy had sold eight pieces before an article about his work in Germany pushed him further into the spotlight.
His pieces have gained interest at Munich’s biggest art fair, ART MUC, and have sold to buyers including in Britain and the Bahamas, fetching up to $7,000 on the international market.
A gallery in New York has even been in touch with the family offering to put Laurent’s work on display.
Lisa plans to put the money earned from Laurent’s paintings into an account which he’ll be able to access when he turns 18. How many pieces he creates, however, is entirely up to him.
Lisa explained: “Sometimes he doesn’t feel like painting and doesn’t set foot in his studio for three or four weeks but then suddenly it grabs him and he says, ‘Mama, painting.’”
Even in spite of his newfound fame, Lisa assured that ‘everything will continue as before’ for Laurent.
“The extraordinary thing is that many people want his paintings and want to get to know him. We want to make this as normal as possible for him,” she said.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/laurents.art
Topics: Art, Instagram, World News