adam lister paints pixelated 8-bit watercolor works of famed masterpieces

adam lister paints pixelated 8-bit watercolor works of famed masterpieces
(above) ‘starry night’ (from the van gogh series) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200
all images courtesy of adam lister

by looking towards minimal old-school video games and 8-bit computer graphics, adam lister reinvents famed artworks with a distinctly digital aesthetic. the new york based artist bridges past and present through his pixelated watercolor compositions, each modeled after a notable painting or pop culture character. van gogh’s ‘starry night’, hokusai’s great wave’ and hopper’s ‘nighthawks’ are broken down to their most basic, elemental geometries, defined by color and tone.

the first drawings are rendered in pencil — an initial sketch formed by angular representations of the subject using only vertical and horizontal lines. lister paints the resulting square and rectangular shapes in a palette that best matches the original work. although abstract and lacking any fine detail, the compositions are realized as rigid yet recognizable reinterpretations of familiar masterpieces.

‘a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte’ | edition of 200

‘nighthawks’ | 6×10 inches | edition of 200

‘portrait of adele bloch-bauer’ (after klimt) | 7×7 inches | edition of 200

‘olympia’ (after manet) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200

‘lady with an ermine’ (after da vinci) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200

‘portrait of dr. gachet’ (from the van gogh series) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200

‘three sunflowers in a vase’ (from the van gogh series) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200

‘venus of urbino’ (after titian) | 8×10 inches | edition of 200

‘les demoiselles d’avignon’ | 7×7 inches | edition of 200

‘the persistence of memory’ | 6×8 inches | edition of 200

‘the great wave’ (after hokusai) | 6×8 inches | edition of 100

‘girl with balloon’ (afetr banksy) | 8×10 inches | edition of 100

‘the scream’ (after munch) | 8×8 inches | edition of 200