Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “O_scar (Beauty Is Only Skin Deep)”
Summary
A subverted Academy Award (Oscar) statuette rendered as a hand-finished multiple: the familiar gold knight stands on its film-reel plinth, but D*Face has peeled the gilding away down one side to expose a skeletal, partly flayed body underneath, and pooled the melted gold around the base. It is one of D*Face's three-dimensional defacements of fame iconography, turning Hollywood's most coveted trophy into a memento mori.
Why It Matters
D*Face built his name on hijacking the symbols of celebrity, advertising and consumer desire, and the Oscar is about the purest symbol of manufactured fame there is. By splitting the statuette into gilded surface and rotting skeleton, the work literalizes its own title, "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep," and folds his two long-running obsessions, the worship of celebrity and the inevitability of death, into a single object. It sits squarely in his Pop Provocation period, where the comic-strip flatness of his prints gives way to objects that physically embody the joke rather than just illustrate it.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of only 33, this is a genuinely scarce piece by the standards of D*Face's output, where paper editions often run into the hundreds. Three-dimensional, hand-finished objects from street artists tend to attract a narrower but committed buyer pool: they are harder to display, store and ship than prints, which can dampen liquidity, but the low number and the instantly readable Oscar subject give it real desirability among collectors chasing his sculptural and skull-themed work. Condition is critical on a gilded object like this, since chips and rubbing to the gold finish are common and materially affect value. Expect it to trade less frequently than his screenprints, so comparable sales are thin and pricing is more negotiated than benchmarked.
Historical Context
The work directly appropriates the Academy Award of Merit, the gold-plated statuette handed out at the Oscars since 1929, a design so protected and so loaded with cultural meaning that defacing it reads as a deliberate provocation. Made in 2010, it belongs to D*Face's Pop Provocation era, when he was extending his print-based attacks on fame and consumerism into three dimensions, echoing the same flayed-skull and rotting-glamour motifs that run through his "Going Nowhere Fast" and related celebrity-skull works of the period. The melted-gold base and exposed skeleton tie it to the long art-historical vanitas tradition, where reminders of mortality are smuggled inside images of wealth and beauty.
FAQ
What does this piece depict?
A defaced Academy Award (Oscar) statuette: the gold figure stands on its film-reel plinth, but the gilding is peeled back along one side to reveal a skeletal, flayed body beneath, with melted gold pooled around the base.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 33, making it scarce relative to D*Face's typical paper print runs.
What medium is it?
The exact medium is not confirmed in our records, but the work presents as a three-dimensional, hand-finished multiple (a cast and painted/gilded statuette) rather than a flat print.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited editions are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, though signing and numbering on this specific piece is not independently confirmed here. Buyers should request photos of any signature, number and accompanying certificate.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing celebrity, advertising and comic-book imagery with skulls and his winged-eyed 'D*Dog' motif, and co-founder of 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.