Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have collaborated with a talented group of ape artists from Save the Apes, an animal sanctuary in Florida. And they will unveil their collection this weekend at the 47th annual Artexpo in New York on Pier 36.
Save the Chimps
The unique acrylic-on-canvas works created by the Oscar winner and his wife, together with their ape collaborators, will form a debut collection titled “The Joaquin Phoenix & Rooney Mara Save The Chimps Collection,” comprising 16 paintings in various sizes, available for sale and ranging between $5,000 and $10,000 in price.
Save the Chimps
And you might be asking yourself-how did that happen? Phoenix and Mara painted the base coats, and ape artists from Save the Chimps, added their own brushstrokes as the finishing overlay. All sales of the artwork will benefit Save the Chimps, a 150-acre sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, for 220+ chimpanzees retired from labs, show business and the exotic pet trade. Only about 10% of the chimps enjoy painting, which is one of the sanctuary’s many enrichment programs. Each piece in the new collection of works is named after the chimp artist who added the brushstrokes, and is signed by Phoenix and Mara for the four-day exhibit taking place at Pier 36 in the Lower Eastside of Manhattan. Private collectors and known supporters of Save The Chimps include rock singer, Pink, together with Sir Paul McCartney and Pamela Anderson.
Save the Chimps
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara commented on their debut art exhibition: “We hope these paintings will raise much needed funds for Save the Chimps’ sanctuary and deepen people’s appreciation of these intelligent apes. Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal world. They share 98% of our DNA, so it’s no surprise that some chimps find it therapeutic to paint, much like some humans do.”
Save the Chimps
FedEx Cares donated the shipment of the paintings from LA to the Florida sanctuary, then on to Manhattan, where the collection will debut at Artexpo New York, April 4-7.
Save the Chimps
“The purchase price not only gets you one of just 16 signed paintings by Hollywood’s coolest couple, but an invitation to the private sanctuary to meet some of the ape artists who collaborated with them,” says Dan Mathews, Director of Events & Special Projects at Save the Chimps.
Save the Chimps
Artexpo New York opens to the public on Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, starting at 11:00 a.m. daily, with tickets priced at $30 for general admission. A multi-day advance purchase ticket for all days is priced at $50.
For more information on Save The Chimps, visit www.savethechimps.org and to purchase tickets to Artexpo New York, visit https://redwoodartgroup.com/artexpo-new-york/.
