Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Pop Tart (Yellow)”
Summary
Pop Tart (Yellow) reworks Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe portrait against a saturated yellow ground, dissolving the left half of her face into a grinning skull and pinning D*Face's signature white cartoon wings to either side of her head, with black ink dripping from her chin. It is a foundational example of D*Face's "defaced" celebrity appropriation, turning a Pop icon of glamour into a memento mori about fame and mortality.
Why It Matters
The print sits at the intersection of two of D*Face's central preoccupations: the disposability of celebrity and the borrowed visual language of Pop art. By overpainting Warhol's Marilyn, arguably the most reproduced glamour image of the 20th century, with a skull and his own winged motif, D*Face collapses the distance between adoration and decay, suggesting that the machinery of fame is also a death cult. The Marilyn-as-skull conceit became one of his most recognizable images and one of the clearest statements of his thesis that consumer culture sells us idols already rotting from within.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of 74, this is a genuinely small run from D*Face's early period, before his market matured and his print runs in some cases grew larger. The Marilyn/skull subject is among his most sought-after images because it reads instantly as "a D*Face" and it directly engages the Warhol lineage that underpins his whole practice, which broadens its appeal beyond dedicated D*Face collectors to general Pop and urban-art buyers. The yellow colorway is one of several in the Pop Tart series, so cross-shopping against other colorways is normal and condition, signature, and freshness to market drive price more than the colorway itself. It is a recognizable, defensible early work rather than a speculative one.
Historical Context
Dated 2007 and falling in D*Face's Early Street Era, the print appropriates Warhol's 1960s silkscreen treatment of Marilyn Monroe, lifting the flat color separations, the pink skin block and the loose hair. The drips and the half-skull belong to D*Face's own vocabulary of vandalized glamour, while the white cartoon wings tie back to his winged "D*Dog" eye motif. The work dates from the period when StolenSpace, the East London gallery he co-founded in 2005, was establishing him alongside the wider mid-2000s street-art boom.
FAQ
What does Pop Tart (Yellow) actually depict?
It is D*Face's reworking of Warhol's Marilyn Monroe portrait on a bright yellow background. The left half of Marilyn's face is rendered as a grinning skull, white cartoon wings flank her head, and black ink drips from her chin, turning a glamour icon into a memento mori about fame.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 74, a small run by street-art print standards.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen), the technique D*Face most often used for his early limited editions and a deliberate nod to Warhol's own silkscreen process.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered, usually in pencil. Specific signing and numbering on any individual copy should be confirmed against the actual sheet and any accompanying documentation.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street artist Dean Stockton (born 1978, London), a Pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic-book, advertising and celebrity imagery with skulls, doomed lovers and his winged-eyed 'D*Dog' motif. He co-founded the StolenSpace gallery in London.
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.