Russell Young

Lou Reed (Light Blue and Magenta)

2008

Russell Young’s alluring, larger-than-life portraits of iconic cultural figures explore both glamorous American mythologies and their dark underbellies of crime, addiction, and death. His silkscreen paintings portray celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kurt Cobain; the artist recontextualizes their iconic appearances in high-contrast palettes, often interweaving them with diamond dust to heighten their glittery, sensual allure. In other works, shellac drips and smears in a visceral, wound-like manner. Young has exhibited in New York, London, Paris, Shanghai, Vienna, and Los Angeles. His work belongs in the collections of the ​​Albertina Museum, the Cornell Art Museum, the Saatchi Collection, and the White House Collection. Celebrities including Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kanye West have all bought his work. Young has also directed music videos, and in recent years, Dutch Golden Age paintings of flowers have become a frequent motif.