Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Romance 2020 (First Edition)”
Summary
"Romance 2020 (First Edition)" depicts a D*Face comic-strip embrace updated for the pandemic year: a dark-haired man leans in to kiss a tearful woman, but a pale surgical face mask (marked with D*Face's yellow tilde/wing motif) blocks the kiss, set against his signature teal halftone-dot ground. It is a sharp pop-appropriation riff on Roy Lichtenstein-style romance comics that turns the genre's swooning lovers into a portrait of thwarted, masked-off intimacy in the COVID era.
Why It Matters
The print captures a specific cultural moment, 2020, by hijacking the visual language of mid-century romance comics, all bold black outlines, flat color, Ben-Day halftone dots, and a single weeping heroine, and inserting the era-defining surgical mask between the would-be lovers. That one substitution does the satirical work D*Face is known for: the consumer-fantasy of perfect romance collides with public-health reality, and desire is literally masked. It sits squarely in his long practice of defacing borrowed pop imagery to comment on how mass media sells us idealized emotion, here recast as a record of the pandemic's intrusion on human contact.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of 74, this sits at the scarcer end of D*Face's screen-print releases, below the 100-plus runs common for his more open editions, which supports collector interest from anyone tracking his output. The romance-comic lovers are among his most recognizable and sought-after subjects, and the pandemic-specific masking gives this print a clear narrative hook that pieces tied to a dated cultural event tend to retain. As a 2020 work from his Established Era it is recent rather than blue-chip-historic, so it competes on subject desirability and the low edition count rather than rarity-by-age; expect it to trade as a solid mid-tier D*Face print rather than a top-flight headline lot.
Historical Context
The image draws directly on the romance and crime comic books of the 1950s-60s that Roy Lichtenstein famously appropriated, the close-cropped kiss, the tearful close-up, the halftone dots, but D*Face redirects that nostalgia to 2020. Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, the surgical mask wedged between the couple makes the print a time-stamped artifact of the year masks became universal. It belongs to his Established Era, by which point D*Face, London-born Dean Stockton (b.1978) and co-founder of StolenSpace gallery, was producing consistently within his recognizable pop-subversion vocabulary.
FAQ
What does Romance 2020 (First Edition) depict?
A comic-book-style couple in mid-embrace: a dark-haired man leans to kiss a tearful, dark-haired woman, but a pale surgical face mask carrying D*Face's yellow wing/tilde motif blocks the kiss. The scene plays out over his signature teal halftone-dot background, framing thwarted, masked intimacy during the 2020 pandemic.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 74.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen).
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, usually in pencil in the lower margin. Signature and numbering on this specific copy should be confirmed against the actual print or accompanying documentation.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is Dean Stockton (b.1978, London), a British street and pop artist who defaces comic-book romance, advertising, and celebrity imagery to satirize consumerism, power, and fame. His signature motifs include the winged-eyed D*Dog and grinning skulls, and he co-founded the StolenSpace gallery.
Related Works
About the Artist
D*Face is the working name of Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a leading figure in British street art. He came up pasting stickers and posters across London in the early 2000s, then built a pop-fuelled visual language that defaces comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity iconography. Recurring motifs include his winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers. His practice spans screenprints, hand-painted multiples, sculpture and large-scale murals worldwide, and he co-founded the StolenSpace gallery in London. His work satirises consumerism, power and our collective obsession with fame.
Collecting D*Face at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic D*Face prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of D*Face prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new D*Face prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across D*Face and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.