Bringing a sense of elegance and beauty to old Hollywood prestige with his characteristic appropriation of celebrity imagery, this work by Russell Young is titled 'Marilyn Crying (White + Crow Blue)' and was executed in 2009. From his diamond dust collection, this work by Young captures the famous starlet's eternal glamor as she's depicted in a state of tears.
Russell Young is undoubtedly one of the most gifted British artists of his generation. Born in 1959 Young’s early years were to profoundly affect his later artistic practice. Young was born to an unwed mother in Northern England and spent his early months passing from different foster parents until he was eventually adopted. From an early age Young felt an outsider in the dark cold world of Northern England and as a result he was powerfully drawn to the idealized drama and warm comfort of the American dream. Everything American he came in contact with represented freedom, possibility and sun.
In 1992 young moved to Hollywood and eventually to New York where he forged a successful career as a photographer and music director whilst also beginning to paint seriously. In 2002 he exhibited his first series of Big Portraits which were to prefigure his iconic diamond dust pieces for which he is now best known. Young is drawn to the icons of his youth, be they Hollywood stars such as Marilyn or Taylor or icons of British Punk culture. Although his intention was to create Anti-Portraits as a deliberate rejection of his career as a professional photographer, the works he has created are in themselves more beautiful than the original images they are taken from and are imbued with a grandeur of scale and glamour which matches the subjects depicted.
Russell Young has risen to become one of the most collected and sought after artists of his generation. Celebrities and the most discriminating collectors like Abby Rosen, Elizabeth Taylor, David Hockney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, David Bowie and President Barack Obama have added Russell’s works to their collections. His larger than life screen-print images from history and popular culture are compelling, daunting, and undeniable.
