Robert Longo Untitled (Damien) 2007 Charcoal on paper. 70 x 70 in. (177.8 x 177.8 cm). Initialed and dated “RL 2007” on the reverse.
Provenance Metro Pictures, New York Exhibited New York, Metro Pictures, Robert Longo Children of Nyx, November 3 - December 8, 2007 Catalogue Essay Robert Longo has built his career by challenging the boundaries of diverse mediums and thus elevating common cultural imagery toan epic realm. However, it is his graphic style of drawing for which he has garnered his reputation as a leading contemporary artist. Dramatic and velvety, these works, such as the present lot, blur the line between drawing and painting. The present lot is a part of Longo's ongoing series that aligns his individual works with the idea of a sublime monolith; it is a monument to the spiritual history of the image. The flawless, sleeping baby reminds us of the purity of birth. Its vulnerability evokes a powerful emotion of sympathy that transgresses societal boundaries—it is both a universal symbol and a personal icon. "The dense layerings of charcoal from which the images are constructed reveal unexpected shades and tonalities of black, running from cold to warm... Robert Longo is a deeply moral artist, and if his works are not religious in the usual sense they are deeply moving exercises in enlightenment," (D. Galloway, "Provocative Visions of the Apocalypse" The New York Times, September 25, 2009). Read More
Robert Longo Untitled (Damien) 2007 Charcoal on paper. 70 x 70 in. (177.8 x 177.8 cm). Initialed and dated “RL 2007” on the reverse.
Provenance Metro Pictures, New York Exhibited New York, Metro Pictures, Robert Longo Children of Nyx, November 3 - December 8, 2007 Catalogue Essay Robert Longo has built his career by challenging the boundaries of diverse mediums and thus elevating common cultural imagery toan epic realm. However, it is his graphic style of drawing for which he has garnered his reputation as a leading contemporary artist. Dramatic and velvety, these works, such as the present lot, blur the line between drawing and painting. The present lot is a part of Longo's ongoing series that aligns his individual works with the idea of a sublime monolith; it is a monument to the spiritual history of the image. The flawless, sleeping baby reminds us of the purity of birth. Its vulnerability evokes a powerful emotion of sympathy that transgresses societal boundaries—it is both a universal symbol and a personal icon. "The dense layerings of charcoal from which the images are constructed reveal unexpected shades and tonalities of black, running from cold to warm... Robert Longo is a deeply moral artist, and if his works are not religious in the usual sense they are deeply moving exercises in enlightenment," (D. Galloway, "Provocative Visions of the Apocalypse" The New York Times, September 25, 2009). Read More
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
