SG MAG OCT P1
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BLACK STAR SAPPHIRE<br />
OWNER JACK ARMSTRONG<br />
COSMIC HARLEY DAVIDSON<br />
This magazine catalogues some 46 of the amazing 100 paintings of cosmic artist and art rebel Jack Armstrong whom I’ve<br />
known for 12 years. Letters by the artist himself regarding 3 of his seminal pieces, his Triptych, have been included.<br />
Jack now in his sixties and in declining health is still flamboyant, out spoken and even arrogant at times. However,<br />
underneath this mask, he is a very caring and sensitive man with a deep passion for the millions of forgotten artists who<br />
could never break through the wall of the “art cartel”, his name for the major art galleries and auction houses. These<br />
establishments alone decide who is to be or not to be the celebrated and wealthiest artists. Jack has shown another<br />
way with his new style of modern art, “Cosmic Extensionalism” and self-promotion, making it possible for an artist to<br />
jump the wall. With help from Star Global International he launched the Million Dollar Cosmic Harley in 2010. It is the<br />
most famous and expensive motorcycle in the world. He has never participated in an auction, yet he has made direct<br />
high-value sales to very wealthy buyers.<br />
As a young boy on a visit to the Smithsonian Museum with his mother, Jack was fixated by a unique and precious stone,<br />
a 733-carat sapphire, the Black Star Sapphire of Queensland. He promised his mother that one day he would buy the<br />
stone and he did. The stone spoke to him and told him he would be a famous artist and to paint exactly 100 paintings<br />
and never another. As a young model and artist in the 1980s in New York, Jack ran with such iconic artists as Andy<br />
Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring. Indeed, Andy Warhol gave him the name “The Last Wizard”. I<br />
developed the concept of the “Million Dollar Harley” as a branding tool similar to Warhol’s soup can. My aim was to<br />
connect with a larger and more current generation and this rocketed Jack to super star status. The Cosmic Harley and<br />
artist even reached the cover of the Pakistani Times. They are now well entrenched in the psyche of many people and<br />
currently 2 books have chapters talking about the Cosmic Harley. Any researcher will see numerous articles in<br />
newspapers, magazines, internet, and on radio & TV. While not quite as famous as his uncle, astronaut Neil Armstrong,<br />
Jack is the subject of “The Last Wizard” a movie, staring Damian Chapa and Eric Roberts, being made soon about his life.<br />
Damian was introduced in the 1980s to Jack at a Warhol Party by Details Magazine’s brilliant writer Stephan Saban.<br />
With only 100 paintings in the entire world these colorful, multilayered, acrylic on canvas paintings, are held closely by<br />
savvy collectors who bought directly from the artist himself or through Star Global International. The art has Jack’s<br />
finger prints, thumb prints, hand prints, and DNA in all of the 100 paintings - a process cleverly devised by the artist to<br />
thwart forgeries. However, Star Global is keeping track and can authenticate all of the paintings. Twenty-five paintings<br />
are destined to form the basis of a museum which the artist will open soon. He aims to help other talented artists<br />
showcase their talents. This means only 75 paintings can ever be available for sale.<br />
About 80 of Jack’s paintings are 24” x 36” before framing and are multi-layered and amazingly vibrant. Starting prices<br />
are currently from $1,950,000 rising steeply to $12,000,000. Two paintings, 36” x 48”, are valued at $4,9500,00 each<br />
and one piece de resistance, “Cosmic Starship Arrival”, 48” x 60”, recently valued at $6,500,000. Alice Walton WalMart<br />
billionaire and owner of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, architect Narendra Patel, French superstar Michel<br />
Polnareff, Donny York of iconic pop group Sha Na Na, and Eric Roberts are listed among his famous collectors.<br />
Very recently a 4-page in-depth interview with Jack appeared in Art & Museum. This was submitted by Derek Culley, the<br />
artist who discovered Damien Hirst. The magazine is part of The Family Office Elite Magazine which goes to high net<br />
worth individuals usually with assets around $100 + million dollars. Jack’s paintings are destined to be virtually priceless<br />
and a renowned art valuation expert told Star Global that the “sky is the limit” since there are only 100 paintings.<br />
It is most unlikely that any of these paintings will find their way to market soon as most current owners are certain that<br />
the contemporary art market is expanding. Owning an Armstrong is a combination of something exclusive and of<br />
beauty to brag about. It’s also about possessing portable wealth. Jack’s story and art are uniquely based on his<br />
ownership of the Black Star Sapphire of Queensland which he and many believe has magical powers of good fortune!<br />
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