Russell Young

Collectors Contemporary Singapore, Russell Young “dirty pretty things”

Russell Young likes to get his hands dirty, and his paintings are proof positive. ‘I like the paint, dirt, blood, sweat, tears and mess of hand-pulling paintings in enamel. Screen-printing has a magic that is instant and unique,’ he says.

This internationally acclaimed, Stateside-based British pop artist was at one time a celebrity photographer and music video director, capturing the likes of George Michael, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. These days, Young’s art is wowing the likes of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, all eager to get their hands on his silk screens depicting other big stars.

So why did he make the transition from photographer to painter? ‘My 20 years of being a photographer was an utter f**king waste of time. In painting, you are in direct contact with the surface,’ Young explains. ‘I love that.’ His first collection of screen prints portraying stars in police mug shots, ‘Pig Portraits’, exhibited in 2003 – perhaps in reaction to his former career – was a sell-out hit. The idea was not to idolise the stars but to produce works that presented an unmistakeable yet unapologetic in-your-face beauty.

Young’s latest solo exhibition, ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, centres around well-known faces of the 20th century, guns and bondage. It’s inspired by a theme that has consistently materialised in his work since his very first series: the clash of fame and shame. He delves into celebrity and crime, sex, drugs and the darker side of life, aware of the tragic events that often accompany stardom. ‘I am intrigued by how two lives from different generations, Marilyn Monroe and Kurt Cobain, interact,’ he says. ‘Both were icons during their lives, found greater fame in death, had problems with fame and dealing with it, and were ultimately responsible for their own deaths. The rise and fall of a person.’

Working out of his studios in New York and California, Young thinks big and works big, leaning towards an eye-catching larger-than-life format to re-imagine iconic figures from history and pop culture. And while diamonds may have been Marilyn Monroe’s best friend, Young also can’t get enough of the sparklers, sprinkling his paintings with glittery diamond dust. It’s a technique that injects a transformative quality into his work; the way light is reflected off the gems becomes just as important as the subject matter. He elaborates: ‘The diamond dust transforms something that is so violent, such as a gun, into a gentle and beautiful painting.' –Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle