,

10 Incredible Album Covers Made by Famous Artists.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Date

Through vinyl covers, musicians are able to distill the ethos and sounds inherent in the album, triggering the curiosity of those who must purchase it, into a physical and visual representation.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons-these are some of the names who have lent their art to the world of music.

We probably all know the cover of the Velvet Underground & Nico‘s debut vinyl, with that huge banana drawn, of course, by Andy Warhol: that was the first record whose cover was entrusted to a figurative artist, in this case the father of Pop-Art, in 1967.


Music history is replete with “little-known” artwork that has been entrusted to art superstars, but sometimes, the success of the album itself has overshadowed the creation of the cover artwork.

Through vinyl covers, musicians are able to distill the ethos and sounds inherent in the album, triggering the curiosity of those who must purchase it, into a physical and visual representation. In contrast, an unconvincing cover plus detain the failure of a record work.

These artists have managed to express not only their own artistic language, also beautifully represent what awaits us upon listening.

In this list you will find the 10 most beautiful album covers by modern and contemporary artists ever – in our humble opinion.

  • Artist: Robert Frank
    Performer: The Rolling Stones
    Title: Exile on Main St
    Year: 1972

Originally, the Rolling Stones had commissioned Man Ray to do this cover, but once it arrived at Total Records headquarters, the famous surrealist photographer’s work did not please the band at all.

So, they asked Robert Frank to undo the “damage”; the artist – a friend of the band – created an impactful and striking collage of vintage photos, causing the album’s sales to skyrocket.

 

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
    Performer: Rammellzee vs. K-Rob
    Title: Beat Bop
    Year: 1983

The Bohemian artist from NY has done only two album covers in his career; one of them is for Rammellzee. Only 500 copies were produced at the time, of which only about 100 survived over the years. This cover is extremely rare, which increases its value from both a financial and sentimental point of view.

 

  • Artist: George Condo
    Performer: Kanye West
    Title: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    Year: 2010

When Kanye West phoned George Condo to ask him to create the cover art for his fifth album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” the rapper had in mind a work that would visually represent the music contained in his record work: maximalist, hedonistic, reflective and downright bold.

Condo made five versions of the record, the main cover of which depicts the singer under a naked winged harpy, a cover that was banned by several retailers.

 

  • Artist: Takashi Murakami
    Performer: J Balvin
    Title: Colores
    Year: 2020

Colombian reggaetón singer J Balvin has always been a big fan of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s colorful and positive work; once he achieved success, he naturally asked the artist to make the cover of his album, called, precisely, “Colores.”

The bright and bold sound of his music was perfectly explicated by a layered bed of Murakami’s signature 3D smiling flowers in dynamic shades of pink, blue and yellow.

 

  • Artist: Jeff Koons
    Performer: Lady Gaga
    Title: Artpop
    Year: 2013

Lady Gaga‘s provocative and bold message was perfectly explicated by the work of America’s most irreverent contemporary artist, Jeff Koons, who curated the cover of her album “Artpop.”

The cover features a Gaga covered in a large ball of electric blue glass and many overlapping colors.

 

  • Artist: Keith Haring
    Performer: David Bowie
    Title: Without You
    Year: 1983

The famous New York street artist collaborated with several musicians on various album covers throughout the 1980s, among them, David Bowie.

The cover of “Without You” illustrates two typical Haring characters embracing, against an orange background and bold lines.

 

  • Artist: Richard Prince
    Performer: A Tribe Called Quest
    Title: We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service.
    Year: 2016

Little known is the cover artwork created by Richard Prince for A Tribe Called Quest, and yet, this artwork has to be counted among the most beautiful artist covers ever made.

Against a black background stands a stylized hominid, with exotic features and colors reminiscent of African colors: grass green, fiery red. Behind, cubes recall an improvised sound system.

 

  • Artist: Gerhard Richter
    Performer: Glenn Gould
    Title: Bach: The Goldberg Variations.
    Year: 1984

Gerhard Richter‘s is considered one of the most beautiful works made for an LP, as it is an original painting affixed to the surface of the vinyl.

Richter explored the theme of abstract painting to represent represent Glenn Gould’s exemplary record work. Only 100 copies produced worldwide.

 

  • Artist: Futura 2000
    Performer: U.N.K.L.E
    Title: The Time Has Come
    Year: 1994

Let’s close on a high note with one of the most beautiful LP covers ever made, by an artist who took his steps on NY subway cars and then exhibited with Basquiat and Haring: Futura 2000.
In 1994, the artist made a work for the up-and-coming group Unkle, propelling them straight into legend.

More
articles

Join
Pluriverse

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Pluriverse 2023
Registered office: Via Romaniello 21/B, Napoli (NA), Italy | N. REA: NA 823189
Privacy