Michael Roman
Dia de Los Muertos
1980s
Stencil with paint on paper
20"x32"
Signed in pencil lower right

Excellent Condition - Minor wear consistent with age and history.

Michael Roman was born in Los Angeles but moved to New York City in the early 1980s, where he worked as a bike messenger, delivering transparencies to Andy Warhol. There he became known rather quickly in the New York art scene for his stenciled graffiti and silkscreen designs, all of which leaned heavily on African and Aztec imagery. Later, he would incorporate artistic icons such as Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara and Lou Reed. Legendary dance clubs as Danceteria and the Pyramid Club were just a few of the places that had their walls plastered with his work.
When he was first garnering attention for his work, Roman tagged subway cars with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and worked for established designers such as Betsey Johnson and Kate Spade. But his real break came when Madonna asked Roman to provide some of his stencil work for her movie Desperately Seeking Susan. Roman designed the skulls and skeletons that are prominently displayed on Madonna’s suitcase and a van that she rides in in the film.
The exposure led to him becoming an in-demand artist and clothing designer. His long-sleeve shirts and wall hangings were sold in boutiques and galleries all over New York.

In the late 1980s guitar legend Carlos Santana became a big fan of his work. Santana would end up commissioning Roman to design t-shirts and the cover of his 1993 album Milagro, and hiring him to work at the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco’s Mission District. “He’s a brilliant, gifted artist. He’s very raw, he’s very unique with what he does with color,” Santana said in 2003.
After relocating to San Francisco, Roman entrenched himself in the Mission’s art scene, showing at the deYoung Museum and many local galleries, teaching art classes while still making art. Michael Roman died on December 26, 2016.