Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Hollywood Boom”
Summary
A screen print in which D*Face's signature winged eyeball, his "D*Dog" motif, hurtles across the sheet like a cannonball, trailing comic-book speed lines and smoke before slamming into the word HOLLYWOOD, which erupts in a Lichtenstein-style explosion of black smoke and bursting red and yellow rays over a Ben-Day halftone field. It is a clean distillation of D*Face's central preoccupation: turning the language of romance-comic and advertising graphics against the celebrity machine that produces them.
Why It Matters
The print compresses D*Face's whole argument into one gesture, the winged eye, his stand-in for a watchful, complicit gaze, is weaponized and fired directly at Hollywood, the engine of fame and image-manufacture he repeatedly satirizes. By rendering the assault entirely in vintage comic-strip vocabulary (halftone dots, primary-color bursts, hard-edged smoke clouds), he borrows the visual authority of mid-century American pop and pulp to critique the spectacle culture it helped build. It sits squarely in the lineage from Lichtenstein and Warhol forward into street-art provocation, where appropriated commercial imagery becomes a tool of dissent rather than celebration.
Collector Perspective
This is a desirable subject within D*Face's catalogue because it foregrounds the winged-eye motif that collectors most associate with him and pairs it with an explicit, legible Hollywood/fame theme rather than an abstract one. The edition size is unconfirmed, which introduces some uncertainty on scarcity, and value will track condition, whether it is hand-signed and numbered, and the presence of original documentation. D*Face screen prints occupy a solid mid-tier of the urban-art market, with steady demand but a deep enough supply that pricing is driven more by image strength and edition specifics than by raw rarity. The strong, instantly readable composition here works in its favor on resale.
Historical Context
Produced in 2014, during D*Face's Pop Provocation era, the work draws directly on 1960s American romance and action comics and on the Pop-art recoding of those sources by Lichtenstein. The exploding-word device and radiating ray-burst are lifted from comic onomatopoeia and advertising graphics of that period, here aimed at Hollywood as shorthand for the celebrity and power structures D*Face, co-founder of London's StolenSpace gallery, has spent his career defacing. The piece reflects his ongoing project of using consumer-culture imagery as the weapon against consumer culture itself.
FAQ
What does Hollywood Boom depict?
It shows D*Face's signature winged eyeball flying across the sheet like a cannonball, trailing comic-book speed lines and smoke, and crashing into the word HOLLYWOOD, which explodes in black smoke and bursting red and yellow rays over a Ben-Day halftone background.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print (silkscreen). The flat, hard-edged color areas, halftone dots and bold blacks are characteristic of D*Face's screen-printing process.
What is the edition size?
The edition size is unknown / unconfirmed for this work. Buyers should rely on the documentation that accompanies the specific print and, where possible, verification against the publisher's records.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, though this should be confirmed for the individual copy before purchase, as it has not been independently verified here.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street and pop artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), known for defacing comic, advertising and celebrity imagery, for motifs like the winged-eyed D*Dog and grinning skulls, and for co-founding 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.