Robert Longo, “Shark 14,” courtesy of the gallery.
Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MAMAC) is hosting the first major European retrospective on Robert Longo since 1991. Featured are 50 emblematic works drawn from collections both public and private. Robert Longo has experimented in various media, including sculpture, photography, performance art, and video. The show closes on November 29.
Related links:
Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain
Robert Longo [artist homepage]
Installation view, courtesy of the artist
More images and story after the jump…
Robert Longo, “3 Eric A-B-C,” part of the retrospective at MAMAC.
He is fascinated by mass media, a fact which comes to light in the works included in the MAMAC show. The retrospective focuses on Longo’s extensive use of pencil graphite, and the stark, powerful, and often political images which the technique produces. Included are works from the series “The Men in The Cities” is full of figures contorted into strange positions, a macabre dance given that Longo’s premise involves his characters being shot. Their clothing is uniform, their faces obscure: they are, in effect, identity-less, forgotten. The works in “Combines,” some also featured in the exhibition, are mash-ups of different images culled from news sources, with a nod to Robert Rauschenberg’s assemblage of appropriated materials. “Monsters” seeks to convey the sheer destructive power of nature, while “The Sleeping Children” juxtaposes images of children with those of nuclear disasters. In other words, Robert Longo has worked to capture humanity’s fears, with the final products on the walls of MAMAC.
From Robert Longo’s series “Men in the Cities,” at MAMAC.
Robert Longo, “Gretchen,” from “Men In the Cities.” Image courtesy of the gallery.
Robert Longo, “Untitled (The Face),” from “Monsters.” Image courtesy of the gallery.
Robert Longo, “Cathedral of Light,” at MAMAC.
Robert Longo, “Mike Test/Head of Goya,” at MAMAC.
Robert Longo was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, NY. He showed at the 1997 Venice Biennale, and has had solo exhibitions at Galerie Hans Meyer, Düsseldor; the Margo Leavin Gallery, LA; Galeria soledad Lorenzo, Madrid; Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris; Gallery Cotthem, Belgium; Galleria Emilio Mazzoli, Italy; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris; The Brooklyn Museum; New York’s The Kitchen; and more.
An image of the artist, via MAMAC.
“Sword of the Pig,” from Robert Longo’s “Combines,” currently showing at MAMAC. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Robert Longo, “Death Star,” at MAMAC.
Robert Longo, “Ophelia 13,” at MAMAC.
See below for installation views of the retrospective. All images are courtesy of the artist.
– R. Fogel
