Castle Fine Art announce Johnny Depp’s 2024 collection, Tarot.
As an artist, Johnny Depp depicts captivating figures from his life, dreams, and subconscious mind. In this collection, he has created four tarot-inspired artworks: ‘The Lovers’, ‘The Emperor’, ‘The Empress’ and ‘Strength’. While referencing the ancient deck, they are imbued with his own characters and narratives, and imagined in a uniquely symbolic style.
This collection, which follows on from The Bunnyman series, draws on tarot’s intriguing iconography. ‘The Emperor’ and ‘The Empress’ for instance, are both major arcana cards in traditional decks, reflected in the artist’s own regal interpretations of them as crowned rulers, while ‘The Lovers’, typically found nude, have been dressed in elegant formal wear. Another twist depicted by Depp for ‘Strength’, is the exchange of the lion for an elephant, symbolic to Depp for its intrinsic qualities.
The Emperor £3,950
‘The Emperor’ faces viewers as a quietly authoritative and powerful figure. Yet, while cloaked in traditional iconography, the eyeless character has been framed in a more mysterious manner, adding intrigue to this card-like composition.
‘The Emperor’ has perfectly rouged cheeks and defined lips. However, his pale visage is eyeless, taking on a mask-like quality; the stately costume is missing its sitter. As the artist has said, “he’s not really there.” A metaphor for acting out roles, ‘The Emperor’ seems to stand for the many guises that we all wear.
The Empress £3,950
Traditionally associated with femininity, motherhood, and authority, ‘The Empress’ carries multiple meanings in Depp’s deck of tarot-inspired artworks.
Based upon a painting Depp made for Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children, the French singer, model and actress later used this for the cover of her studio album ‘Divinidylle’. Now her timeless beauty has been translated into this vision of ‘The Empress’.
The Lovers £3,950
‘The Lovers’ is, as Depp says, “the beginning of the story” for his tarot-inspired collection.
Wearing black and white, their matching outfits contrast with a soft purple background; marbled pools of paint reflect an earlier watercolour painting by Depp from which this work has been derived. The inky painting also evokes dreamlike compositions by Marc Chagall, who depicted smartly robed couples floating through the sky, often surrounded by flowers.
Strength £3,950
“Why do you want to fight with something that doesn’t want to fight with you?” is the contemplative message etched into the surface of ‘Strength’, as if spoken by the majestic grey elephant that gazes directly at the viewer. The text juxtaposed with the traditional symbol of strength invites on a deeper reflection on how we use our power.
Closely cropped to fit the traditional frame of a tarot card, the giant elephant seems to wear an ancient wisdom on its weathered skin. Depp has depicted it through detailed patterns, sensitively drawn lines and earthy tones, while the animal emerges from a dark background evocative of the night sky, speckled with white stars.
Also available as a Framed Set of four £14,950
With hand applied 24ct gold leaf, and silkscreen varnish these are mixed media hand-signed limited-edition artworks on 640gsm paper with torn edges. Each artwork is signed by Johnny Depp and emboss stamped by hand with Johnny’s personal mark of authenticity, The Bunnyman.
Castle Fine Art
8-10, The Exchange
Nottingham
NG1 2DD
T: 0115 958 3883
nottingham@castlefineart.com
www.castlefineart.com
