GOLDEN LION | Gilded Lion Bust on Pop Art Oil Barrel | HYPNOTIQ

An original contemporary artwork by Arian Lori-Amini, known professionally as HYPNOTIQ.
GOLDEN LION sets a gold toned lion bust on top of a red pop art painted oil barrel: the oldest symbol of authority in art, mounted on the most industrial object available.
The work. The pairing is the piece. A lion alone is heraldry, and heraldry is easy. Putting it on an oil drum, hand painted in saturated red with sweeping script lettering, drags the symbol out of the palace and into a language of shipping yards, street murals and consumer packaging. The barrel is a recurring form across the HYPNOTIQ body of work, and it functions here as both plinth and counter argument. Created in 2022.
The form. The lion is modelled with a full hand detailed mane and facial structure, and the gold surface catches light with a warmth that flat paint cannot reproduce, so the mane reads as a mass of individual highlights rather than a single tone. Below it the barrel is glossy, red and graphic, its cylindrical geometry deliberately blunt against the organic complexity of the animal above.
Materials and craft. Resin cast lion figure with gold metallic paint, acrylics, hand detailed mane and facial features, and a high gloss epoxy finish, installed on a hand painted oil barrel base.
For the collector. A floor standing or plinth adjacent statement for an entrance hall, a lounge, a study, a showroom or a hospitality interior. It suits collectors of animal sculpture, street art influenced work and pop art that uses industrial objects as part of the composition.
Specifications
Lion dimensions: approximately 20 H x 16 L x 10 W inches, approximately 10 lbs
Materials: resin cast lion figure, gold metallic paint, acrylics, high gloss epoxy finish
Base: red pop art hand painted oil barrel
Overall height including barrel: available from the studio on request
Year: 2022
Edition: one of a kind original, not available in editions
Studio: HYPNOTIQ, Seattle, Washington. Designed, fabricated and hand finished in the artist studio.