Giant Pandas, 2014

Rob Pruitt  

Born in 1964 in Washington, Rob Pruitt is an American artist. During his youth, he studied at Corcoran College of Art Design and Parsons School of Art Design. His notoriety grew during the 90s. His work focused on American youth and the consumer society.

Pruitt considers all of his work to be personal and autobiographical. In his early days, some of the artist's works were very controversial. In 1998, he produced the work “Cocaïne Buffet". Exhibited at The Fifth International, this work consists of 16 aligned mirrors on which is deposited real cocaine, the work invited spectators to consume it. The artist goes even further by realizing in 2002 "Cocaine Buffet Grand Prix", in which he develops a whole mirror circuit on which he deposits cocaine. Developing a critique of society endlessly tempted by consumption, these works caused a scandal. A controversial artist in his early days, Pruitt would later evolve.

Some of his works are inspired by the American artist and major figure in pop art, Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987). Pruitt was inspired by the latter to compose several series of very colorful paintings. The colors and repetitions of the figures represented undoubtedly evoke the works of Andy Warhol. Rob Pruitt, for example, will produce several series representing pandas, an animal very present in his work. In addition, he pays homage to Warhol by creating “The Andy Monument" in 2011, an aluminum and clear glass sculpture representing the artist.

The artist multiplies the supports ranging from canvas, to traffic block (“Traffic Cone", 2013) or fabric sofa (“RP Studio Love Seat", 2014)

Rob Pruitt is notably inspired by cultural references. Between 2016 and 2017, he created a series of six photographs. Entitled “Exquisite Self-Portraits", these photographs represent the artist himself and emblematic characters from the Star Wars saga.

The artist is ecologically committed, in 2009 he produced “Melting Pot Fountain". The latter represents a shower hook surrounded by several plastic bottles. Its “Polar Bear / Global Warming" silkscreen also evokes the impact of our society on the environment.

More recently, he notably produced several works criticizing the policies of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. He notably produced “Trump Wall's" (2018), a work made up of US dollar bills, or “Reading List for Surviving The Trump Presidency" (2018), a work that represents a set of twelve bar codes on a white background.

Rob Pruitt lets us see his vision of modern American society. It pushes the viewer to become aware of the society in which he lives and of its impact on the world around him.

Rob Pruitt is represented by Gavin Brown's Enterprise.