SWELL Limited Edition Print
LIMITED DROP OCT 11-25, 2025
Brighten your life with Baseman’s Swell, a limited edition print that celebrates Toby’s 20th and Mattel’s 80th anniversaries!
This brilliant swirl of characters reminds us of the power of wonder, imagination, and play.
Gary Baseman reinterprets beloved Mattel characters and brands like Barbie, Skeletor and Hot Wheels as they float among his original characters like Ahwroo, Bosko, Disko, and Hotchachacha.
Click HERE to get your print starting Saturday, OCT 11, 9am PT
Available in 2 sizes (h x w): 16 x 24 inches or 24 x 36 inches. SIGNED and numbered, unframed. Delivery up to 6-8 weeks.
Once this window closes on October 25, this special print will not be offered again.
The spirit of Swell dates back to Baseman’s childhood in the 1960s and 70s, a time of turbulent change. Movements swept across the globe and CREATIVITY SWELLED to enormous heights in art, music, TV and film.
As a latchkey kid growing up in Hollywood, Baseman fell under the spell of popular culture and its endless cast of characters. Swell represents that feeling of overwhelm with grooviness and hope.
Baseman remembers Mattel’s original mascot Matty Mattel and his sister Belle. The artist grew up with a Casper doll that took on the same form as the talking Matty Mattel. “Will you play with me?” the friendly ghost said to young Gary. Toys literally spoke to the young artist and became an important force in his life and art.
I use “swell” in the title of the original painting and for the Mattel plush figure of Toby because Mattel’s mid-20th century commercials would end with the great tag line: “You can tell it’s Mattel, it’s swell.”
As a child, things were swell. I felt this limitless swirl of play with the explosion of toys, pop culture, and Saturday morning cartoons. I played with lots of toys, including Barbie with my neighbors, and imagined myself as whatever I wanted to be–a scientist, a cowboy, or a rock star. – Gary Baseman
Be SWELL. Get Baseman art HERE
LIMITED DROP OCT 11-25, 2025
