Hav a Havanna 2 by Mel Ramos is a 1998 limited edition serigraph that combines pop art sensibilities with playful sensuality. In this piece, a nude woman poses partially behind a large, hyper-realistic Cuban cigar labeled Cohiba. The bright yellow background contrasts with the warm tones of the cigar and the model's skin, making both figures pop with vibrant intensity. Ramos is known for his works that blend commercial imagery with pin-up aesthetics, often blurring the line between advertisement and fine art. Here, he evokes humor and allure, using iconic branding to highlight themes of luxury, desire, and consumer culture.
Mel Ramos (United States, 1935–2018) was a prominent American Pop artist renowned for his vibrant paintings that juxtaposed female nudes with consumer goods, such as candy bars and soft drinks. His work satirized the commodification of the female body in advertising, blending realism with abstract elements. Ramos's art is celebrated for its bold commentary on popular culture.
SerigraphSerigraph is a printmaking process that uses silk screen techniques to create an image. The image is digitally separated into individual colors, each of which is assigned to a separate silk screen. These screens are then used to apply each color by hand, layer by layer, to replicate the original artwork, often based on an oil painting.
Hav a Havanna 2 by Mel Ramos is a 1998 limited edition serigraph that combines pop art sensibilities with playful sensuality. In this piece, a nude woman poses partially behind a large, hyper-realistic Cuban cigar labeled Cohiba. The bright yellow background contrasts with the warm tones of the cigar and the model's skin, making both figures pop with vibrant intensity. Ramos is known for his works that blend commercial imagery with pin-up aesthetics, often blurring the line between advertisement and fine art. Here, he evokes humor and allure, using iconic branding to highlight themes of luxury, desire, and consumer culture.
Mel Ramos (United States, 1935–2018) was a prominent American Pop artist renowned for his vibrant paintings that juxtaposed female nudes with consumer goods, such as candy bars and soft drinks. His work satirized the commodification of the female body in advertising, blending realism with abstract elements. Ramos's art is celebrated for its bold commentary on popular culture.
I try to work every day, even when I'm not motivated. Ritual is very important to me.
- Mel Ramos
Specialising primarily in depictions of the nude female form, Mel Ramos was a figurative painter whose works also incorporated the elements of pop, realism and abstract art. Alongside fellow artists, Warhol and Lichtenstein, Ramos sought inspiration from such sources as Wonder Woman and Superman comic books while growing up and later was drawn to referencing pin-ups and popular brands; his resulting works often featured absurd images such as a nude woman draped across a chocolate bar, as exhibited in his Toblerone Tess piece – these works are often seen to be a nod to the way capitalism has monopolised the female body. Of his often-controversial works, Ramos stated “I make sure that my works are not too erotic and that they always have a trace of humour...either you understand it or not.” (Artist website)
Comic strip art refers to artwork that utilizes the subject matter and commercial printing techniques found in comic strips. In the 1960s, a group of artists began creating paintings that incorporated Ben-Day dots—commonly used in comics and advertising—to produce highly graphic designs in bright colors, using traditional art media.