Brooklyn-born artist, musician, and filmmaker Robert Longo is celebrated for his bold drawings, experimental sounds, and adventurous films and videos.
Exploring themes of power and authority, Longo has featured guns, atomic bombs, contorted businessmen, monster waves, and sharks in his massive black-and-white drawings. Changing hats, he directed the cyberpunk film classic Johnny Mnemonic and videos for New Order and R.E.M., while still finding time to play guitar.
Visit Robert Longo’s website, watch the Johnny Mnemonic trailer and music video for R.E.M.’s The One I Love, read an interview with the artist about his early days, and buy his new Skira Rizzoli monograph
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Click through below to see a gallery of Longo’s work.
Robert Longo, Untitled, from Men in the Cities, 1981-87. Charcoal, graphite, and ink on paper, 96 x 48 inches/238.8 x 121.9 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Bodyhammer: 38 mm Special, 1993. Charcoal and graphite on paper, 96 x 48 inches/243.8 x 121.9 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Untitled (View of Study Room with Books, Desk and Windows), from The Freud Cycle, 2002. Charcoal on mounted paper, 66 x 108 inches/167.6 x 274.3 cm. Collection Siegfried Weishaupt
Robert Longo, Untitled (Götterdammerung), from Monsters, 2005. Charcoal on mounted paper, 67 x 100 inches/170.2 x 254 cm. Private Collection. Courtesy Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris
Robert Longo, Mike Test (Head of Goya), from The Sickness of Reason, 2003. Charcoal on mounted paper, 72 x 96 inches/182.9 x 243.8 cm. Collection of the artist
Robert Longo, Untitled (Ophelia #14), 2006. Charcoal and ink on mounted paper, 59-1/2 x 59-1/2 inches/151.1 x 151.1 cm. Private Collection. Courtesy Gallery Hans Mayer, Dusseldorf
Robert Longo, Untitled (After Rauschenberg, Retroactive 1, 1964), from Heritage, 2008. Graphite on paper, 6-1/4 x 4-1/2 inches/15.9 x 11.4 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Untitled (Moon, 1865), The Outward and Visible Signs..., 2005. Charcoal on mounted paper, 88 x 72 inches/223.5 x 182.9 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Untitled (Ping), from Beginning of the World, 2007. Charcoal on mounted paper, 70 x 78 inches/177.8 x 198.1 cm. Collection Albertina, Vienna
Robert Longo, Untitled (Shark 4), from Perfect Gods, 2008. Charcoal on mounted paper, 88 x 70 inches/223.5 x 177.8 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Untitled (Vessel of Light), from Balcony, 2008. Charcoal on mounted paper, 38-3/4 x 87 inches/98.4 x 221 cm. Private Collection
Robert Longo, Untitled (The Sound of speed and light), from The Mysteries, 2009. Charcoal on mounted paper, 59-3/4 x 95-1/2 inches/151.8 x 242.6 cm. Courtesy Metro Pictures, New York