Robert Longo
JOANNA, 1983
Lithograph
71 5/8 x 35 6/8 ins 182.12 x 90.93 cm
Available at VFA
I believe I am a chronicler of the time that I live in with a moral imperative. I’m free of sponsorship or the government.
- Robert Longo
Robert Longo (b.1953) combines images from photographs and other media and transforms them into powerful charcoal drawings that enhance each image.
An exhibit of some of the work he has created over the past decade has left the Milwaukee Art Museum and is headed to Denmark.
Robert Longo: The Acceleration of History will be on exhibit at the The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark from April 10, 2025 through August 31, 2025.
Though many of the works that Longo has done in the last ten years is bold and, often, on a grand scale, he is still best known for his iconic Men in the Cities series. Longo said, in Interview magazine, “And what’s interesting is how the work has expanded its focus, but there’s a consistency with Men in the Cities and what I do now because I try to make work that happens every time you look at it.”
Longo began the series around 1976, when he asked friends to pose on the rooftop of his Manhattan apartment building, wearing Wall Street attire. He got them into awkward poses by throwing objects at them or tying rope around their limbs. He then recreated the photos in charcoal and graphite. The hyperrealistic images that Longo created resonated because of the societal implications…and continue do to so.
“We live in a culture of extreme impatience. In our current world, attention is power.” Longo said in a recent interview in BOMB magazine. “I want seeing my work to be an extreme experience, not a casual one. The way I make these drawings is indeed a tactic to encourage the viewer to look more closely and to slow down. The making of the work is experienced in looking at it; you’re witnessing the time it took to build the image. I’m after a truth that reflects back to us, that implicates us; it’s a mirror with a memory.”
Robert Longo continues to live and work in New York.
Richard Serra (1938-2024) was one of the most influential sculptors of the late 20th century. Thought best known for his large sculptures, Serra always carried a sketchbook with him and created drawings in a variety of medium.
He became interested in printmaking in 1972 and began to make lithographs, then silkscreens and, eventually, expanded his work to combine techniques and materials.
Available at VFA are works that reflect Richard Serra’s drawing and fine printmaking skills.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Robert Longo and Richard Serra available at VFA.
References:
Robert Longo by Michelle Grabner/Interview. Bomb Magazine. February 12, 2025.
Richard Price. How Do You Feel About Getting Old?”: Robert Longo, in Conversation
With Richard Price. Interview Magazine. October 8, 2024.
