Young lied about his age to attend art college at the age of fifteen. Had he not done so, he would have most likely moved to the streets of London and died. He moved to the capital five years later and caught the attention of photographer Christos Raftopoulos, whom he assisted for several years. Raftopoulos introduced Young to another side of himself, building him his own darkroom, taking him to the opera, showing him the limits of his life did not need to confine him or his work. It was during this time—still rough in nature and occasionally homeless—he photographed the early gigs of Bauhaus, R.E.M., and The Smiths. His innate eye for movement landed him photoshoots for magazines and eventually his first record sleeve cover for the 1986 album Faith by George Michael.

AVAILABLE WORKS

MARILYN IN CALIFORNIA SERIES

BIOGRAPHY

Russell Young was born in 1959 in Yorkshire, where he was immediately put into a foster home, then a nunnery, and was adopted before reaching the age of one. No one knew who exactly his birth parents were, though there were rumors his mother was fourteen, and his father was from Italy. In Northern England, he spent much of his time moving from town to town and living an isolating existence. Here he would take his first photographs of birds on the lawn only for the film to come back developed so dark he could hardly make out the birds. Like these first photographs, Young’s life developed with areas blotted by abandonment. The lack of a personal or even a shared history has left him free to explore dreams and fantasies of sometimes better, sometimes harsher worlds. That yearning has resulted in a body of work that is an uncompromising, intimate love letter addressed to these vast reaches, which, with every passing inscription, are revealed to be rich, wild frontiers.

With few prospects other than working in the factory towns, Young lied about his age to attend art college at the age of fifteen. Had he not done so, he would have most likely moved to the streets of London and died. He moved to the capital five years later and caught the attention of photographer Christos Raftopoulos, whom he assisted for several years. Raftopoulos introduced Young to another side of himself, building him his own darkroom, taking him to the opera, showing him the limits of his life did not need to confine him or his work. It was during this time—still rough in nature and occasionally homeless—he photographed the early gigs of Bauhaus, R.E.M., and The Smiths. His innate eye for movement landed him photoshoots for magazines and eventually his first record sleeve cover for the 1986 album Faith by George Michael.

Young continued to photograph celebrities and direct music videos, eventually leading him to the United States. The rock star aesthetic he had brandished in his photography lent itself to his earliest screen prints that followed in the 2000s. His first series, Pig Portraits, shown in Los Angeles in 2003, collected the infamous mugshots (real and staged) of celebrities awash in fame and monochrome but also restrained as a result of their actions. In his following series, Dirty Pretty Things, he began to incorporate his popular use of diamond dust. The glam shots of cultural icons, glittering in pulverized diamonds, embodied the lusts and aspirations of their eras.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

TRAINING
Chester Art College
Exeter College of Art and Design 

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2019   Art Couture: The Intersection of Art and Fashion, Cornell Art Museum, Florida
2018   Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
2018   Superstar, Modern Art Museum, Shanghai
2015   Forever Young: A Retrospective, Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida
2012   A Retrospective, Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas, Texas 

SOLO GALLERY SHOWS
2023   FAME, Taglialatella Gallery, Toronto
2023   FAME, Casterline Goodman Gallery, Aspen
2023   Icons of Our Time, Relevant Gallery, Denver
2023   FAME, Gulllotti Gallery, Perth
2023   Dreamland, Maddox Gallery, Hayle
2023   FAME, Hartinger Fine Art, Vienna
2023   Dreamland, Maddox Gallery, London
2023   Russell Young, Taglialatella Gallery, Palm Beach
2022   Russell Young, Maddox Gallery, Gstaad
2020   Fame, Halcyon Gallery, London
2020   ICONS, Halcyon Gallery at Harrod’s, London
2020   Heroes and Heroines, Galerie Kronsbien, Munich
2019   Heroes and Heroines, Taglialatella Galleries, Toronto
2019   A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Art Angels, Los Angeles
2018   Grenades, Art Angels, Los Angeles
2018   Diamond Dust, Art Angels, Los Angeles
2018   Lotusland, Ganna Walska Lotusland, Montecito
2018   Diamond Dust, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2018   Russell Young Pop Art, 212 Gallery, Aspen
2018   Diamond Dust, Art Angels, Los Angeles
2018   New York Grenades, Taglialatella Gallery, New York
2017   Neo Pop, Vertes Modern, Zurich
2017   Diamond Dust, Art Miami, ZK Gallery, San Francisco
2017   20th Century Icons, ZK Gallery, San Francisco
2017   Femme Fatale, Art Angels, Los Angeles
2017   Femme Fatale, Taglialatella Gallery, New York
2016   American Landscapes, Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert
2016   Russell Young, Professor Jean Wainwright Tate Gallery Audio Arts Archive, London
2016   SUPERSTAR, Halcyon Gallery, London
2015   Wanted Dead or Alive, 212 Gallery, Aspen
2015   Jackie O, Taglialatella Gallery, New York
2015   Rock-n-Roll Works on Paper, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis
2015   YOUNG, Galerie Burkhard Eikelmann, Düsseldorf
2015   YOUNG, Galerie Hafenrichter, Nürnberg
2014   SUPERSTAR, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis
2014   Spring Show 2014, Mead Carney Fine Art, London
2014   Wild at Heart, Imitate Modern, London
2013   Dreamland, Bankrobber, London
2013   The Fight of the Paso Del Mar, Bankrobber, London
2013   Kate Moss, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2013   Suicide, Bankrobber, London
2013   Suicide, Galerie G. Hartinger Fine Arts, Vienna
2013   Suicide, Vertes Modern Art, Zurich
2012   Russell Young, Vertes Modern Art, Zurich
2012   Entertainment for Men, the Playboy Club, London
2012   Only Anarchists are Pretty, Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas
2012   A Working Class Hero is Something To Be, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis
2012   The Last Picture Show, Galerie G. Hartinger Fine Arts, Vienna
2012   The Last Picture Show, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis
2011   American Envy III, Long-Sharp/Curis Modern + Contemporary, Detroit
2011   American Envy I, Scream Gallery, London
2011   Diamond Dust, Galerie G. Hartinger Fine Arts, Vienna
2011   Icons, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal
2010   Russell Young, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2010   Icons & Iconoclasts, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Beverly Hills
2010   Russell Young, Robinsons Art Gallery, Flanders
2010   Diamond Dust, Russeck Gallery, San Francisco
2010   Dirty Pretty Things, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2010   Dirty Pretty Things, Scream Gallery, London
2010   Dirty Pretty Things, Taglialatella Gallery, Palm Beach
2010   Selected Works, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Beverly Hills
2010   Fame+Shame, Aberson Exhibits, Tulsa, OK
2010   Russell Young, Doyle Devere, London
2009   Dirty Pretty Things, Valentino, New York
2009   Dirty Pretty Things, Russeck Gallery, San Francisco
2009   Dirty Pretty Things, Nikolai Rukaj Gallery, Toronto
2009   The Last Picture Show, Sims Reed Gallery, London
2008   Russell Young, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Beverly Hills,
2008   Rebel Rebel, Art of Elysium at Milk Gallery, New York
2008   Russell Young, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2008   Punk+Graffiti, Milk Gallery, New York
2007   Russell Young, Altermann Modern, San Francisco
2007   Horsepower, Milk Gallery, New York
2007   Works on Paper, Sims Reed Gallery, New York
2007   Storm, Vanina Holasek Gallery, New York
2007   Fame+Shame, Bankrobber, London
2007   Fame+Shame, Bankrobber, Los Angeles
2007   Fame+Shame, Galerie Adler, Paris
2006   White Rabbit, The Art of Elysium, Beverly Hills,
2006   Russell Young, Sims Reed Gallery, London
2005   Fame+Shame, Vanina Holasek Gallery, New York
2005   Fame+Shame, The Art of Elysium, Los Angeles
2003   Pig Portraits, SP Gallery, London
2003   Pig Portraits, The Art Of Elysium at Don O’Melveney Gallery, Los Angeles

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023   Looking West, Santa Monica Art Museum, Santa Monica
2015   POP, Halcyon Gallery, London
2015   The British Are Coming, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
2015   Pelé: Art, Life, Football, Halcyon Gallery, London
2015   Heroes and Villains, Halcyon Gallery, London
2014   Lost Angels, Mead Carney Fine Art, London
2014   POP-FICTION, 212 Gallery, London
2014   Giant, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2014   The Shock of the New, Mead Carney Fine Art, Porto Montenegro
2014   Marilyn, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2014   Kunst, Vertes Modern, Zurich
2014   Grafix 14, Vertes Modern, Zurich
2013   Rethinking the American Dream, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
2013   Works on Paper, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong
2013   David Bowie, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
2013   Icons and Irony, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
2013   Rock, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2013   The Art of Elysium, Los Angeles, California
2012   The Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Rocking the Art World, The Broome Street Gallery, New York and Symbolic, London
2012   The Image is One Thing, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2012   Summer Exhibition, Scream Gallery, London
2012   Marilyn, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2011   POP and Contemporary American Art, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2011   New York, Taglialatella Gallery, Paris
2011   Arts for a Better World, Taglialatella Gallery, Miami
2011   It’s A Wonderful Life, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2011   Pop Pop, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2011   Scream Now, Scream Gallery, London
2011   Hueless, Mallick Williams Gallery, New York
2011   Works on Paper, Whisper Fine Art, London
2011   Heaven Gala, The Art of Elysium, Los Angeles, California
2011   Printer Proofs, Bertrand Delacroix Gallery, New York
2010   Diamonds Are Forever, Scream Gallery, London
2010   The Art of Giving, The Saatchi Gallery London
2009   Christmas Show, Scream Gallery, London
2009   Urban Legends, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2009   Pop, Liberty, The Sims Reed Gallery at Liberty of London
2009   Works on Paper, Sims Reed Gallery, New York
2008   Ink, Sims Reed Gallery, Miami
2008   ICONS, 108 Fine Art, Harrogate, Yorkshire
2007   Pop!, Collectors Contemporary, Singapore
2007   Giddy Up, Newzones Gallery, Calgary
2007   Eros, Galerie Adler, Paris
2007   Modern Master Prints, Sims Reed Gallery, London
2007   Works on Paper, Sims Reed Gallery, New York
2006   Aid for Aids, Windemere Gallery, Los Angeles
2006   Who’s That Girl, Vanina Holasek Gallery, New York
2006   Boilermaker, Stellan Holm Gallery, New York
2006   Modern Master Prints, Sims Reed Gallery, London
2006   Beast and the Beauty, Vanina Holasek Gallery, New York
2005   Outlaws, Vanina Holasek Gallery, New York
2001   Art Heals, Twin Towers Orphan Fund, New Museum of Art and Technology 

ART FAIRS
2019   Art Miami, Miami
2019   SCOPE, Miami
2019   CONTEXT Art Miami, Miami
2019   Toronto Art Fair, Toronto
2019   Hampton’s Art Fair, New York
2019   Texas Contemporary, Houston
2018   Palm Beach Art Fair, Palm Beach
2018   Art Miami, Miami
2018   Reveal Art Fair, Saratoga
2017   Art Miami, Miami
2017   SCOPE, Miami
2016   Art Miami, Miami
2016   SCOPE, Miami
2015   SCOPE Miami, Florida
2015   Masterpiece, London
2015   Art Miami New York
2015   Spring Masters New York
2014   SCOPE Miami, Florida
2014   CONTEXT Art Miami, Florida
2014   Art Southampton, New York
2014   Masterpiece, London
2014   Art Monaco
2014   Art Wynwood, Miami, Florida
2013   Masterpiece, London
2013   Art Basel, Switzerland
2012   Art Basel Miami, Florida
2012   Art KYIV Contemporary, Kiev, Ukraine
2012   The San Francisco Fine Art Fair, California
2011   SCOPE Miami, Florida
2011   Art Toronto, Canada
2011   Moniker Art Fair, London
2011   LA Art Show, Los Angeles, California
2011   Art Stage Singapore
2010   Art Basel Miami, Florida
2010   Art Chicago, Illinois
2009   Fountain Art Fair, Miami
2009   The London Original Print Fair, The Royal Academy of Arts, London 2009 Cologne Art Fair, Germany
2008   SCOPE Miami, Florida
2007   Art Basel Miami, Florida
2007   SCOPE Basel, Switzerland 2006 Art Basel Miami, Florida 

COLLECTIONS
Albertina Museum, Vienna
Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid
Jennifer Aniston, Los Angeles
Brigitte Bardot, Saint-Tropez
Kate Beckinsale, Los Angeles
The Benetton Foundation, Treviso, Italy
David Bowie, New York
The Core Club, New York
Cornell Art Museum, Florida
Beth DeWoody, New York
Drake, Hidden Hills, California
Kirsten Dunst, Los Angeles
The Getty Collection, Los Angeles
Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas
Laurence Graff, New York
David Hockney, Los Angeles
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul
Marc Jacobs, New York
Kris Jenner, Los Angeles
Angelina Jolie, Los Angeles
Khloe Kardashian, Los Angeles
Floyd Mayweather, Las Vegas
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Mohammed VI of Morocco, Rabat
The Estate of Marilyn Monroe, New York
Kate Moss, London
Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
Elon Musk, Los Angeles
Mark Zuckerberg, Palo Alto
Sharon Osbourne, Los Angeles
John Paulson, New York
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Athens
Joaquin Phoenix, Los Angeles
Brad Pitt, Los Angeles
The Polk Museum of Art, Florida
The Qatari Royal Family, Doha
Lou Reed, New York
Aby Rosen, New York
The Saatchi Collection, London
Paul Smith, London
Daisy Soros, New York
Elizabeth Taylor, Los Angeles
Kanye West, Los Angeles
White House Collection, Washington, DC 

AWARDS
2016   The Spirit of Elysium, Los Angeles, California 

PUBLICATIONS
2020   FAME exhibition catalogue (Halcyon Gallery)
2019   Superstar exhibition catalogue (Modern Art Museum)
2016   Superstar exhibition catalogue (Halcyon Gallery)
2015   Pelé: Art, Life, Football exhibition catalogue (Halcyon Gallery)
2014   Helter Skelter (Bankrobber.)
2011   Goat Blood (Bankrobber.)
2011   American Envy (Bankrobber.)
2008   Rebel Rebel (Art of Elysium)
2008   Diamond Dust (Kessler Gallery)
2007   Fame+Shame (Bankrobber.)
2006   White Rabbit (Art of Elysium)
2005   Russell Young: fame, shame, and the realm of possibility (The Art of Elysium)