Russell Young, David Bowie, 2008 (Contemporary art)

Russell Young, David Bowie: The Jean Genie, 2008, Acrylic paint, enamel and diamond dust silk screen print on line, 2008, 62 x 48inches

Attended an exhibition featuring the works of Russell Young. Although the 'sexy-glamour' style makes the paintings rather chic, I do not rate these series of work highly for a couple of reasons. These series of work couldn't escape the shadow of Warhol's prints. It's too reminiscent of Warhol to the point of mimicking his works. The uniqueness is not there. Moreover, most of the pieces were done in 2009. Yet the subjects of the paintings were icons of the past, making them irrelevant to the prevailing zeitgeist. Where is the strong connection between the artist and the subject matter? Warhol is justified to paint these iconic celebrities as he had personal relations with these stars.

Of the whole collection, I only like the above David Bowie piece. I feel this style of glitzy glamour painting works for David alone.