212 GALLERY | Oct 05 to Nov 24 2015
Russell Young and Rubem Robierb both channel Pop Art through their highly-sophisticated and glamorously iconic imagery. The two share similar aesthetics and approaches toward the precious, yet hard-edge, concepts of love, life, success, and shame.
Russell Young (British, b. 1960) began his professional career nearly 20 years ago with an assignment to shoot George Michael for the album cover of Michael’s Faith. This early success lead to a career directing music videos, nearly one-hundred for MTV, before Young focused on fine art. From the beginning of his career as a fine artist, Young was successful: Russell Young’s first exhibition of paintings in 2003, entitled “Pig Portraits”, sold out.
Young’s work owes much to the American Pop artists of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and much of his subject matter is a throwback to these decades. However, unlike the American Pop artists who heralded the age of the instant celebrity, Young ruminates on what celebrity means to the famous.
Young’s work has risen to become broadly recognizable among collectors, curators, and international auction houses alike. His straightforward process and hard-edged imagery are balanced by a keen eye and awareness of composition. Many of the images co-opted for Young’s work come directly from estates and foundations, which give permission for Young to use the images because of Young’s high regard in the entertainment industry. His larger-than-life silkscreen images are as compelling and glamorous as the movie stars and musicians who comprise his subject matter. By combining distinctive images with his creative technique, all of Russell’s work says “young”.
Rubem Robierb was born in Brazil in 1976. At the age of 20, Robierb moved to São Paulo, Brazil to become a professional photographer in the advertising industry. His first solo show, Brezil Autrement, was put on by Art et Partage Association in Aix en Provence, France in 2005 and included a book for his works. Four years ago, Robierb moved to the United States continuing developing his artistic career.
Throughout Robierb’s work, he focuses on contemporary American society and the socio-cultural issues that define our current times. Having a deep root in poetry, now instead of using words, he writes with light and shape and believes his works can be ‘read’. As an artist he is keen in photographing all sorts of people, objects and scenes around the world with their different shapes and ethnicities. His recent works provocatively meditate on the contemporary American Society, making emphasis in the socio-cultural issues that define our current times.
