Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Heartbreak Highway”
Summary
"Heartbreak Highway" is a screen print depicting a classic comic-strip vignette of two doomed lovers in a speeding red convertible: a green-haired woman in a yellow top slumps with closed eyes and parted red lips against a bespectacled, dark-suited male driver whose hands grip the wheel as a hairline crack spreads across the windshield. Rendered in flat primary color, heavy black outlines and a Ben-Day dot sky, it is a quintessential D*Face appropriation of mid-century romance-comic melodrama, twisting the swooning-couple trope into a scene of intimacy shadowed by impending disaster.
Why It Matters
The print sits at the heart of D*Face's long-running dialogue with American romance and crime comics of the 1950s and 60s, the same source material Roy Lichtenstein mined, but pushed toward menace rather than pure nostalgia. By staging tenderness inside a speeding car with a fracturing windscreen, D*Face fuses desire and dread, using the slick visual language of advertising and pulp to comment on how consumer culture packages love, glamour and self-destruction together. It is a clear example of his subversive romance mode, where the borrowed comic frame becomes a vehicle for unease beneath the gloss.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of just 70, this is a relatively tight run by D*Face's screen-print standards, where popular releases often reach 100 to 200 or more, which gives it built-in scarcity for collectors who track the artist. The doomed-lovers-in-a-car composition is among his most sought-after and recognizable themes, more desirable on the secondary market than his standalone skull or D*Dog motifs because it reads as a complete narrative image and displays well at scale. As a 2026 release it is a current-market piece rather than an established blue-chip work, so secondary pricing is still forming; the small edition and strong subject matter position it as a solid hold rather than a quick flip.
Historical Context
The imagery draws directly on the romance and hot-rod comic books of the 1950s and 60s, with its Ben-Day dot sky, heavy black outlines and flat color quoting the cheap four-color printing of that era. The swooning woman and stoic, suited driver are stock comic archetypes, here recombined into a single charged moment of love accelerating toward a crash. Produced in 2026 within the Contemporary Era, it continues a Pop Art lineage running from Lichtenstein and Warhol through to D*Face's own street-rooted, twenty-first-century take on appropriated mass imagery.
FAQ
What does Heartbreak Highway depict?
It shows a comic-strip scene of two lovers in a speeding red convertible: a green-haired woman in a yellow top swoons with eyes closed against a bespectacled man in a dark suit who grips the steering wheel, while a crack spreads across the windshield, set against a Ben-Day dot sky.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 70.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen).
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, often in pencil; buyers should confirm the specifics for any individual copy.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is British street artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity imagery with motifs like his winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers. 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.