CALVIN
The Costly Perfume, 2021
Oil, acrylic, and mixed media on canvas
Created in London, United Kingdom
Size: 72 x 48 in / 182.8 x 121.9 cm
Depth: 36 mm
Price: $1,250,000 USD
In The Costly Perfume, CALVIN transforms a moment of spiritual offering into an abstract expression of surrender and devotion. The composition moves with visceral rhythm — dense strokes of indigo and black are pierced by luminous whites that seem to exhale across the surface.
A single, monumental bloom appears to dissolve into light — part flower, part flame, part soul in ascent. Around it, a constellation of symbols — crosses, waves, and quiet marks of breath — forms a private geometry, a coded system of faith and remembrance. These gestures are not decoration; they are structure. Every line carries intention, every absence has weight.
The surface bears the trace of intensity and revision — oil sticks pressed into wet acrylic, passages scraped and rewritten, moments of precision yielding to instinct. Texture becomes testimony. The layering of matte and gloss, of control and eruption, mirrors the painting’s central tension: devotion that costs, beauty that wounds.
Though the title recalls the biblical act of offering costly perfume as a sign of love and surrender, the work transcends narrative. It is not about what happened, but what remains — the lingering scent of sacrifice, the stillness after release.
The deep ultramarine field anchors the painting in contemplative gravity, while the off-white strokes illuminate it from within, evoking the faint light of faith against darkness.
Created in London during a period of transition and reflection, The Costly Perfume marks a pivotal moment in CALVIN’s early canon — a convergence of spiritual depth and material intensity.
Valued at $1,250,000 USD, the price reflects the scale, complexity, and curatorial significance of the work. Its layered composition, commanding presence, and emotional authenticity position it among CALVIN’s most important and collectible pieces — a museum-grade statement of contemporary Neo-Expressionism.
The Costly Perfume stands as a meditation on presence, loss, and transcendence — where paint becomes prayer, and every gesture, an offering.
