Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Cry Baby (First Edition)”
Summary
Cry Baby (First Edition) renders the head of a comic-strip woman tipped back and weeping, her closed eyes streaming cartoon teardrops, dissolving into sweeping ribbons of coral-red, black, white and turquoise that radiate across the sheet like a motion blur or wind tunnel. A large turquoise heart-shaped form (reading as a stylized wing or lip) floats top-right against the same Ben-Day-dotted, speed-lined ground. It is a textbook D*Face study of the doomed comic-strip lover — the melodrama of romance-comic heartbreak abstracted into pure pop velocity.
Why It Matters
The print distills D*Face's core preoccupation: hijacking the visual language of mid-century American romance comics — the swooning heroine, the single perfect tear, the Ben-Day dot — and pushing it past Lichtenstein's cool quotation into something more emotionally violent and kinetic. By smearing the crying face into streaks of color, Stockton turns a frozen comic panel into a depiction of emotional free-fall, satirizing the manufactured, mass-produced feeling that advertising and pop culture sell. It sits squarely in his "doomed lovers" lineage that has defined his work since the StolenSpace years and made him one of the most recognizable figures of British pop-influenced street art.
Collector Perspective
An edition of 85 is small for a contemporary screen print and keeps supply genuinely tight, which supports value retention for a desirable image. The crying-woman / heartbroken-lover motif is among D*Face's most sought-after subjects, more so than his generic skull or D*Dog filler editions, and the kinetic, color-saturated treatment here gives it strong wall presence that helps at resale. As a "First Edition" 2023 release it is recent, so secondary trades are still establishing a track record; pricing will hinge on condition, signature/numbering, and whether a variant or AP exists. Solid mid-tier D*Face acquisition rather than a blue-chip grail.
Historical Context
The imagery draws directly on 1950s-60s romance and "weepie" comic books — the same source pool Roy Lichtenstein mined — where stylized women cried over lost love in primary colors and halftone dots. D*Face (Dean Stockton, b.1978, London) has reworked this vocabulary for two decades, and Cry Baby continues that thread into 2023, within the Contemporary era. The swirling, blurred composition reflects his later move away from flat comic panels toward more painterly, motion-driven treatments of the same subversive-romance subject.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A comic-strip woman's head tilted back and crying, with cartoon teardrops, her face dissolving into sweeping streaks of coral-red, black, white and turquoise. A large turquoise heart/wing shape and Ben-Day dot patterning fill the rest of the sheet — a classic D*Face 'doomed lover' image.
How large is the edition?
The edition is limited to 85 prints, which is small for a contemporary screen print.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen), produced as a First Edition release in 2023.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, usually in pencil in the lower margin. This should be confirmed against the specific example, as signature and numbering are not independently verified here.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is Dean Stockton (b.1978, London), a British street and pop artist known for defacing comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity imagery. His signature motifs include the winged-eyed 'D*Dog', grinning skulls and crying comic-strip lovers, 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.