Louisiana Postcard with the work, Untitled (Hercynian), 2022, published in connection with Louisiana's exhibition with artist Robert Longo. Robert Longo is particularly known for his enormous, hyperrealistic drawings in black and white. The motifs are often intense and dramatic “shots” from the frenetic and chaotic imagery of our time, which he first captures and crops, and then unfolds to monumental size.
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Robert Longo was born in 1953 in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island. He initially set out to study art history, but then graduated from State University College in Buffalo as a sculptor. Here he was also introduced to film and established a lifelong friendship with Cindy Sherman. Together they moved to New York in the late 1970s and became part of the so-called “Pictures Generation” – which also included names such as Richard Prince and David Salle and which was strongly critical of consumer society and the increasing influence of mass media.
In 1981, Longo exhibited the series 'Men in the Cities' – drawings of well-dressed business people frozen in distorted and ambiguous poses – are they dancing or have they been shot? These images were his breakthrough, and they still stand as some of the most iconic of the decade. Since then, in his career – which also includes directing music videos and the cyberpunk film 'Johnny Mnemonic' – he has revolved around archetypes and motifs that range from weapons, bombs and bullet holes to natural phenomena (waves, flowers, animals) to refugees, religion and terror.
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