Nino Perdido (2009)

Artist: RETNA (Marquis Lewis)
Title: Nino Perdido
Year: 2009
Medium: Screenprint in colours
Image Size: 71 × 54 cm (28 × 21 1/4 in)
Sheet Size: 77 × 57 cm (30 1/4 × 22 1/2 in)
Edition: 50 — signed, titled, dated and numbered lower edge "/50 Nino Perdido Retna 2009" with blindstamp
Type: Limited edition screenprint — early career, edition of 50

Description:

Nino Perdido (2009) is a rare and historically significant early screenprint from RETNA — the Los Angeles-based artist born Marquis Lewis, whose development of a unique written script drawing on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic calligraphy, Mayan glyphs, Coptic script, and Old English lettering has made him one of the most visually singular and conceptually original voices to emerge from the street art generation. By 2009, RETNA was still operating at the intersection of graffiti culture and emerging gallery recognition — his editions small, his distribution limited, his prints produced with the intensity and the intentionality of an artist who understood that his visual language was genuinely unprecedented.

The title — Nino Perdido, Spanish for "Lost Boy" — introduces the autobiographical and elegiac register that pervades much of RETNA's work: the experience of growing up mixed-race in Los Angeles, navigating identities and cultures that the broader world was not yet equipped to receive or understand, finding in the act of writing a language that was simultaneously ancient and entirely personal. RETNA's script cannot be read by those who have not studied it — it is writing that communicates its emotional weight through visual and formal means rather than semantic ones, the density and rhythm of the marks carrying feeling before meaning.

The screenprint medium — with its capacity for layered, flat colour and precise graphic registration — is well suited to RETNA's compositional language: the script elements, the colour fields, and the surface tension of his compositions translate into ink on paper with a fidelity that rewards the close attention his work demands. Signed, titled, dated, and numbered lower edge with blindstamp, from an edition of just 50 — among the smallest and rarest of his early published works.

Shipping & Delivery:

✔ Worldwide shipping from France
✔ Professional, secure packaging with insurance
✔ Tracking number provided
✔ Delivery within 5–10 business days

➡️ Contact us for any question

FAQ

Is this an original RETNA screenprint?
Yes — an original screenprint in colours, signed, titled, dated and numbered lower edge with blindstamp, from an edition of 50.

What is the edition size?
50 impressions — among the smallest and rarest of RETNA's early published editions.

What does "Nino Perdido" mean?
"Lost Boy" in Spanish — a title that draws on RETNA's autobiography as a mixed-race artist growing up in Los Angeles, navigating identities and cultures that resisted easy categorisation.

What is RETNA's script?
RETNA developed a unique written script drawing on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic calligraphy, Mayan glyphs, Coptic script, and Old English lettering — a visual language that is simultaneously ancient and entirely personal, communicating emotional weight through visual and formal means rather than conventional semantics.

Why is a 2009 work significant?
2009 represents a pivotal early moment in RETNA's career — before his major gallery breakthrough and international recognition, when his editions were produced in the smallest quantities for a limited audience. Early works of this period are increasingly scarce and sought after.

Is the work framed?
Please contact us for framing options.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide, with museum-grade flat packaging, full insurance, and shipment tracking.

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