229:, has nothing to do with blurring the distinctions between high and low. Instead, rainbows and butterflies have come to symbolize a magical new world where order is without hierarchies, edification is without snobbishnessPruitt produces his art without the slightest glance of irony. He makes glamorous and admirable our drive for worldly success while commiserating with our search for inner virtue.” Although the paintings are designed and tightly crafted, they are imperfect; the artist's hand is evident. His use of glitter has been compared to
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233:'s diamond dust, but Pruitt describes his own work as “basically blown up versions of dining table craft projects... I’ve really enjoyed letting the world know that not everything is so mystified or so regulated to expertise—that you can make something really beautiful with a little ingenuity and some supplies from Michael’s.”
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Critic
Michelle Grabner analyzes the panda project thus: “The paintings' clichéd imagery neutralizes their real endangered status making us less culpable in the creatures' pending extinction. And therein lies the beauty of the clichéd image." She goes on, "This appropriation of similes, once strictly
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These developed into a later series called “The
Suicide Paintings,” window-like portals consisting of pure gradients juxtaposed by a differently colored frame. While the gradients are close to perfect, they are not digitally generated. These paintings were installed with chromed television sets and
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The following year Pruitt held his first solo show, “101 Art Ideas You Can Do
Yourself,” where he applied humor to the genre of language-based conceptual art. The recipe-style book was filled with instructions for making and decorating such as “Paint secret paintings on walls with glow in the dark
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for the 1999 Gavin Brown summer show. He invited artist friends to set up tables and sell whatever they wanted, be it their own artwork or junk from their apartment. The gallery space became a place to socialize with the artist, creating a feeling of community between makers and sellers. The Flea
283:-style award show, with nominees for categories like Solo Gallery Show of the Year, Critic of the Year, and Best New Artist. Like much of Pruitt's work, the show falls somewhere between sincerity and parody. Although it is not unheard of to give awards for fine art (in Britain, for example, the
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cinnamon rolls with geometrically piped paint for icing. Randy
Kennedy describes a unifying theme to the multivalent show: “Everything in it seems to pivot on the idea of pattern and design as a valiant but usually doomed attempt to impose some order and beauty on a random, chaotic world.”
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stacks of black and white cubes. They look like color studies, polluted vistas, and screen savers. Critic
Florence Waters describes her experience with the work: "The absence of a story is made alarming by the scale and intensity of the encounter with colour on canvas."
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paint” and “Draw yourself into your favorite comic strip.” Others were suggestions on how to interact with the world in a different way, like “Sit on the toilet backwards” and “Go on an animal photo safari in a city: dogs, cats, pigeons, rats, and squirrels.”
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youths leave their community to experience the broader world before returning to the church and responsibility. He describes an artist's life as a kind of perpetual rumspringa, less constrained as artists are from the traditional expectations of society.
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The exhibition was thirty-five of these instructions realized, including an exercise bike facing a painting and a pile of pennies on the floor. During the time he was barred from the art world, Pruitt briefly worked for
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In 2001 Pruitt showed the first of the glittery panda paintings that would become his trademark. He explains his choice of subject matter thus: “I see it as a kind of corporate damage control -- like trying to market
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and
Massimo De Carlo, Pruitt shows regularly at art fairs. He is also known for throwing parties; on April 20, 2013 he turned MOCA's annual gala into a weed-themed bacchanalia, which raised over two million dollars.
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Pruitt used tombstones again in a 2008 show where he created monuments for celebrities who had died the previous year. They were installed in a room whose walls were papered in a year's worth of iPhone photographs.
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2010 saw Pruitt's sprawling solo show “Pattern and
Degradation,” which was considered confirmation of his part of the art establishment. The show was held at Gavin Brown and spilled over to the nearby gallery
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In 1998 Pruitt caused another minor scandal with a piece called
Cocaine Buffet which was shown at The Fifth International, Chivas Clem's artists run space. The show was co-curated by
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While galleries refused to represent his solo work, Pruitt contributed to a few group shows. Pieces from this time dealt with his exclusion from the art world; his first sculpture at
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artist. Working primarily in painting, installation, and sculpture, he does not have a single style or medium. He considers his work to be intensely personal and biographical.
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furniture. Outside they arranged a graveyard using plywood tombstones with sardonic inscriptions. Ken
Johnson compared it to the self-mocking art-as-life collaborations of
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Pruitt has made a variety of paintings with colored gradients. The “Faces” series are scrawled line drawings of features that are then transferred onto gradients and
175:. He installed a 16-foot mirror with a line of real cocaine running down the center, in which visitors were welcome to partake. Publicity stunt, peace offering,
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approached him in 2009 to reimagine their annual fund-raising event. Instead of the usual gala, Pruitt conceived a performance piece: a tongue-in-cheek,
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In June 2013 his work set a record price at a
Christie's charity auction when a panda painting sold for $ 315,000, over twice its estimated value.
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inspired by his color gradient work. The Rob Pruitt™ for J. Crew Rash Guard retails for $ 125.00, with half of the proceeds donated to charity.
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tires after they exploded. I was a reviled figure, but everybody loves a panda.” He remembers childhood visits to the giant pandas at the
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collaborated on an installation piece called Peacock Hill. In 2003 they bought a ramshackle, eleven-bedroom Victorian mansion in
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but overall described the project, as it was presented in a 2003 exhibit at Gavin Brown's Enterprise, as "self-congratulatory."
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The show also included humanoid monsters made out of trash, collaged self-portraits, candy-filled stacks of painted tires, and
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In 2013 Pruitt installed his "Last Panda" show at Gavin Brown's defunct bar, the Passerby. The space, which was destroyed by
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sculpture, or indictment of the greed and glamour of the art world, it changed the sensation associated with his name.
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in 2012 to create a line of shoes and handbags featuring panda bears and animal prints.
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Gallery their partnership disintegrated and neither had major shows for several years.
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fountain, which, as Mia Fineman points out, is related to baptism and rebirth.
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Pruitt has exhibited extensively in New York and internationally; in 2013 the
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Pruitt began exhibiting in the early 1990s with his then collaborator,
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when Gunn began teaching there. During college, Pruitt lived at the
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exhibit in the Coachella Valley from February 25 - April 30, 2017.
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describes them as “serious and deep and cheesy at the same time.”
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and says he focused his energy on partying rather than studying.
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874:"About Last Night- Rob Pruitt's Goofy Awards Party at Art Basel"
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A recent demonstration of his work was showcased as part of the
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Pruitt currently resides in New York City with his partner
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1147:"Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's Aim to Save the Planet"
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Market has since been repeated at art fairs and museums.
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craft ideas; a DIY sensibility runs throughout his work.
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1044:"The Andy Monument: Warhol and Pruitt, Together at Last"
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For the market's latest iteration, Pruitt is running an
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It featured brightly patterned paintings influenced by
1002:"Rob Pruitt and Jonathan Horowitz -- 'Surreal Estate'"
951:(Press release). Massimo De Carlo. September 19, 2012.
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799:"Collaboration with Contemporary Artist Rob Pruitt"
414:; it is a ten-foot-tall, chrome-finished statue of
410:In 2011 Pruitt created "The Andy Monument" for the
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116:Pruitt grew up in Rockville, Maryland. He attended
326:quilt designs. Pruitt was inspired by the idea of
429:to design a limited edition piece of clothing: a
298:The 2013 rendition of the art awards appeared in
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1062:"Artist Rob Pruitt Designed Shirts for…J. Crew?"
425:In 2016, Pruitt collaborated with the retailer
600:"The Artist Rob Pruitt: Paradox on a Pedestal"
850:Stipanovich, Alexandre (November 20, 2013).
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852:"Rob Pruitt, Soon-to-Be eBay PowerSeller"
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663:Kley, Elizabeth (November 28, 2011).
579:Kennedy, Randy (September 15, 2010).
520:. New York: Gavin Brown's enterprise.
499:Pop Touched Me: The Art of Rob Pruitt
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745:. New York: Brant Publications, Inc.
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149:. After a controversial exhibition,
964:"Rob Pruitt: The Suicide Paintings"
929:Cashdan, Marina (October 4, 2010).
872:McGarry, Kevin (December 4, 2013).
737:Franco, James (29 September 2009).
717:"101 Art Ideas You Can Do Yourself"
698:"Back in the Arms Of the Art World"
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480:Exquisite Self-Portrait: The Artist
213:after they found benzene in it, or
108:held his mid-career retrospective.
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962:Waters, Florence (December 2013).
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537:The Rob Pruitt Flea Market on eBay
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118:Corcoran College of Art and Design
57:Corcoran College of Art and Design
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620:Gavin Brown’s Enterprise (2013).
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183:101 Art Ideas You Can Do Yourself
1042:Nathan, Emily (March 30, 2011).
542:The Rob Pruitt Book Club on eBay
478:Pruitt, Rob (October 12, 2011).
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97:(born 1963/1964) is an American
1180:Parsons School of Design alumni
1145:Boucher, Brian (May 14, 2013).
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1126:Finkel, Jori (April 21, 2013).
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818:"Rob Pruitt's "The Last Panda""
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16:American post-conceptual artist
891:Boucher, Brian (Dec 2, 2013).
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696:Fineman, Mia (June 17, 2001).
665:"Jack Early FOREVER AND TODAY"
598:Colman, David (May 13, 2015).
422:in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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1170:American contemporary artists
1000:Johnson, Ken (June 6, 2003).
981:Vogel, Laura (October 2003).
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497:Pruitt, Rob (March 1, 2010).
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255:Pruitt began his Flea Market
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801:. Jimmy Choo. Archived from
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931:"The Rebirth of Rob Pruitt"
855:(Interview with Rob Pruitt)
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949:"Faces: People and Pandas"
756:Solway, Diane (Jan 2012).
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1088:"Studio Tour: Rob Pruitt"
859:Opening Ceremony New News
822:Opening Ceremony New News
468:, who is also an artist.
236:Pruitt collaborated with
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547:Gavin Brown's Enterprise
450:Gavin Brown's Enterprise
374:The Andy Monument (2011)
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124:. Pruitt transferred to
112:Early life and education
61:Parsons School of Design
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878:New York Times Magazine
310:Pattern and Degradation
287:awards the prestigious
196:Living, coming up with
987:Budget Living Magazine
389:Fleischmanns, New York
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1027:(120), archived from
783:(160). Archived from
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715:Pruitt, Rob (1999).
516:Pruitt, Rob (2008).
482:. New York: Karma.
1113:"Massimo De Carlo"
652:. Blouin Art Info.
401:Gilbert and George
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351:Gradient paintings
225:the providence of
173:Jennifer Bornstein
1132:Los Angeles Times
466:Jonathan Horowitz
385:Jonathan Horowitz
359:. Reminiscent of
306:of the nominees.
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704:. New York.
606:. New York.
587:. New York.
416:Andy Warhol
383:Pruitt and
251:Flea Market
231:Andy Warhol
43:Nationality
1164:Categories
968:Art Review
916:art agenda
558:References
444:Art market
431:rash guard
328:rumspringa
277:Guggenheim
271:Art Awards
265:eBay store
238:Jimmy Choo
177:minimalist
147:Jack Early
141:Early work
95:Rob Pruitt
23:Rob Pruitt
743:Interview
393:taxidermy
257:happening
215:Firestone
84:Sculpture
53:Education
32:1963/1964
438:Desert X
344:Cinnabon
122:Tim Gunn
74:Painting
47:American
1092:J. Crew
839:. eBay.
518:iPruitt
427:J. Crew
420:Factory
357:flocked
304:selfies
211:Perrier
164:was an
136:Artwork
1048:Artnet
1025:Frieze
670:Artnet
505:
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397:gothic
281:Oscars
227:kitsch
204:Pandas
361:emoji
332:Amish
324:Amish
166:Evian
153:, at
1099:2016
1074:2016
678:2021
503:ISBN
484:ISBN
395:and
285:Tate
275:The
29:Born
198:DIY
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