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Robert Longo
Artists
Robert Longo
Press release
Black on white. Charcoal on paper. Snapshots, carved out of time. Robert Longo captures motifs from the whirlwind of images that surround us and then enlarges and constructs them, layer upon layer, into dramatic and gigantic charcoal drawings. The results are epic in format and scale and captivate us with an almost hypnotic force.
Exhibition in collaboration with Albertina Museum, Wien
Stop, look again, reflect, feel. American artist Robert Longo is widely renowned for his huge, hyperrealistic drawings in black and white. The motifs are often intense and dramatic “shots” from the tumultuous and chaotic image storm of our time, which he first captures and crops, then unfolds in a truly monumental scale.
Longo's painstaking and slow transformation of these snapshots into giant charcoal drawings - the process for a single work can take up to a year - holds an enormous power of fascination. The results are both impressive and alluring while at the same time standing out as a powerful wake-up call from an artist who seeks to reclaim and maintain the individual image's ability to "bear witness".
“I always think that drawing is a sculptural process and feel like I'm carving the image out rather than painting it." -Robert Longo
The sea of images we all have to navigate on a daily basis has dulled our senses, Robert Longo believes, and thus our ability to digest and relate to reality and its terrifying intensity. He himself often tackles material that has been reproduced thousands of times and which therefore forms part of our collective visual memory.
The sea of images we all have to navigate on a daily basis has dulled our senses, Robert Longo believes, and thus our ability to digest and relate to reality and its terrifying intensity. He himself often tackles material that has been reproduced thousands of times and which therefore forms part of our collective visual memory.
- Through
- 31 August 2025
- Venue
- Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
- Address
- Gl Strandvej 13
3050 Copenhagen
- Hours
- Tue-Fri: 11:00-22:00, Sat-Sun: 11:00-18:00
