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ARTCAT



Russell Young, Storm

Vanina Holasek Gallery
502 West 27th Street, 212-347-9093
Chelsea
September 15 - November 17, 2007
Reception: Saturday, September 15, 6 - 8 PM
Web Site


The art included in STORM demonstrates a perfect symbiosis between Russell Young’s mastery of the silkscreen technique and his artistic vision. These works speak to the viewer in an intimate and dramatic fashion. As the colors invite the eye to take a closer look into the psychology of the subjects of each piece, one’s focus smoothly penetrates into deeper multiple layers of dialogue. This enables the viewer to witness the lives of the subjects through moments of disillusionment, seduction and meditation. The body language of the subjects expresses a sense of creative energy and hunger that was a common denominator in the lives of the cultural icons selected by Russell Young. This artwork elevates itself further by touching upon the creative energy and hunger that can also transform itself into self destructive actions.

Marilyn in Korea, 1954 is from a photo taken during Marilyn Monroe’s 1954 visit to Korea to entertain the US troops; there she performed ten shows in four days, in front of audiences that totaled over 100,000 soldiers. Remembering that event, Monroe stated how “it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I never felt like a star before in my heart.” It’s a Big Day in The North, Love represents the superstar actress Elizabeth Taylor as a classic symbol of glamour and seduction and asks “what remains beyond the glamour and seduction?”

James Dean stands out as an image of a disillusioned warrior. The sculptural pose of Dean becomes a clear symbol of the actor’s life and tragic death. All these icons that belong to XX century cultural history are united by their lives of fame and despair. They share a common destiny. As Maria Callas would famously sing in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma: “What heart have you betrayed, what heart have you lost/ A destiny stronger than yourself wishes us united in our lives and in our deaths”.

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