Playing Cards
22 works
Elmo Hood Its Only Madness Until It Becomes Magic For Sale
Elmo Hood
Its Only Madness Until It Becomes Magic, 2026
Mixed Media Playing Card on Wooden Backed Canvas | Signed
12 x 16 In
About this work
Elmo Hood has established a distinctive presence in the contemporary art market through a practice that merges street art sensibilities with refined studio techniques. Working at the intersection of urban culture and fine art, Hood has cultivated a following among collectors who recognise the artist's ability to transform familiar objects into vehicles for deeper philosophical inquiry. Its Only Madness Until It Becomes Magic exemplifies Hood's signature approach to material transformation. The work employs a mixed media playing card mounted on wooden backed canvas, immediately invoking themes of chance, fate, and the thin membrane separating order from chaos. The title itself functions as both provocation and promise, suggesting that perception alone determines whether an act reads as derangement or transcendence. Hood's treatment of the playing card elevates a common object associated with games of fortune into a meditation on creative risk and the precarious nature of artistic vision. The intimate scale of twelve by sixteen inches invites close examination, drawing viewers into a contemplative relationship with the surface. Hood's decision to work on wooden backed canvas provides structural permanence while maintaining an organic quality that complements the found object aesthetic. The artist's signature confirms authenticity and marks this as a verified work within Hood's expanding oeuvre. As Hood's market trajectory continues its upward momentum, works from this period represent significant acquisition opportunities for collectors building positions in emerging contemporary practices. The philosophical weight embedded within accessible visual language positions this piece as both intellectually engaging and visually compelling. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work by Elmo Hood, please contact Guy Hepner directly.
$5,160
Edition & Provenance
- Year
- 2026
- Medium
- Mixed Media Playing Card on Wooden Backed Canvas | Signed
More from this series
More series by Elmo Hood
About Elmo Hood
Elmo Hood is a self-taught contemporary artist working at the intersection of pop art and mixed media. Born in 1989 in Southampton, England, he now lives and works in Brisbane, Australia.
Hood's career began in 2013 with a single collage made from two playing cards. The piece went viral, leading to a string of international exhibitions and a growing collector base that has followed his work ever since. Those early card pieces set the template for what would become his signature process: cutting, burning, and reassembling found materials to build emotionally charged compositions.
Today his work fuses pop art sensibility with layered mixed media technique. Playing cards remain central to his practice, their existing color and imagery repurposed into new palettes, while darker tones anchor the outlines and shading of each piece. Kings and queens recur throughout his output, alongside recurring nods to philosophy, religion, and the paranormal, giving the work a mythic, symbol-driven undercurrent beneath its pop surface.
Hood's work has been featured in British GQ, Forbes, Glamour, Wall Street International, and Made in Shoreditch, among other publications. He has exhibited across London, Paris, New York, Miami, Ibiza, Bahrain, and Munich, with pieces auctioned at the Houses of Parliament. His exhibition history includes solo shows such as Down the Rabbit Hole at Westbank Gallery, London, and House of Cards in Miami, alongside group exhibitions in New York and at the Bahrain Art Fair.