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London artist paints LA red
Louise Jury, Evening Standard27 Sep 2007
A little-known London artist has sold works worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to a roll-call of Hollywood stars in his first American show.
Angelina Jolie, the Olsen twins, Christina Aguilera and Sharon Osbourne were among stars who snapped up pieces by 32-year-old rising star Antony Micallef.
The artist, who lives in London and Brighton, studied art at Plymouth University and won second prize in the 2000 Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. His style incorporates pop culture icons and corporate logos.
Osbourne attended the private view in Los Angeles with her son Jack and paid an estimated $700,000 (£347,000) for a painting and a sculpture of two angels fighting. Aguilera paid $150,000 (£74,000) for a painting of Barbie dressed as the Virgin Mary entitled Appearance Is Everything.
Most works sold out before the end of the private view. One guest said: "There were about 700 people and it was quite buzzy. It was Micallef 's debut in America and they seemed to like the fact that he picked LA rather than New York."
