Robert Otto Epstein's paintings of celebrity Google image search results

Date
2 March 2017

American artist Robert Otto Epstein’s paintings catch your eye immediately. The characters he depicts are represented in the brightest of colours. His primary and neon palette choices using acrylic and pencil are offset with a deep dark black that dazzles.

For Robert’s latest show, at Boolean in New York, the self-taught artist expresses his interest in language and symbols. The subjects depicted are portraits based on the results of Google search images of Hollywood celebrities, fashion models and sports players.

Throughout Robert’s work, his subjects – whether portrait or pattern – are always depicted as flat interpretations, forming his own visual vocabulary. In the case of this series the approach reduces the facial features of his subjects into simple forms that make them almost unrecognisable from their celebrity status. The artist describes this approach as his own “linguistic biographies” of the subjects at hand.

Robert’s show at Volta will take place at Boolean, New York from March 1-5, 2017.

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Robert Otto Epstein

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Robert Otto Epstein

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Robert Otto Epstein

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Robert Otto Epstein

Above

Robert Otto Epstein

Above

Robert Otto Epstein

Above
Left

Robert Otto Epstein

Right

Robert Otto Epstein

Above

Robert Otto Epstein

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Robert Otto Epstein

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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