When pop culture and art history collide in an explosion of colour, emotion and famed art references, there comes 'When Doves Cry', the new exhibition by pop art sensation Johnny Romeo.
Johnny Romeo is an internationally acclaimed Australian pop painter whose energetic appropriation of comic book aesthetics and pop culture is capturing attention worldwide. With GQ Magazine describing his art as ‘part punk, part pop', he draws inspiration from Neo-Expressionism, rock’n’roll, graffiti art and Pop art.
Johnny Romeo’s work critiques the madness of a modern world driven by pervasive advertising, hollow materialism and wasteful excess, exploring the way in which we construct our identities through the idolisation of pop culture and brand-name heroes.
Romeo is represented by many of Australia’s top galleries with a number of sell-out exhibitions across Sydney, Perth, the Gold Coast, Alice Springs, Darwin and New Zealand. His work has also caught the attention of publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, GQ Style Australia, Vogue, Grazia and the Australian Art Review, as well as the ABC 7:30 Report, SBS and Foxtel Australian arts channel STVDIO.
'When Doves Cry' focuses on the iconic image of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo - She is an instantly recognisable symbol of modern art and a metaphor for the ‘brand’ an artist sells with each piece of art produced. In this case, Frida Kahlo is reproduced in Romeo’s signature style; the brand of another becomes his own in a nod to society’s penchant for consumerism.
After 5 sell-out exhibitions in the past two years, Letham Gallery are excited to present When Doves Cry by Johnny Romeo, with a preview on 17th May, from 6-8pm.
