THIS POP ARTIST'S DIAMOND-DUSTED PAINTINGS ARE COVETED BY CELEBRITY COLLECTORS
Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are among the famous fans of his work.
CHRIS WILSON
AUG 28, 2020
Russell Young has gone from photographing pop stars to making pop art. Young first earned acclaim as an in-demand lensman in the 1980s, notably shooting the album sleeve for George Michael's multi-platinum album Faith and the single sleeve for Morrissey's gorgeously bleak Everyday is Like Sunday. The British-born photographer also snapped Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., The Smiths, Bjork, Bauhaus, and Diana Ross during his career, as well as covers for Vogue Italia, GQ, and The Face. In the 1990s, Young directed more than 100 music videos during MTV's heyday.
In more recent years, Young has garnered attention for making Warhol-esque silkscreen paintings of vintage pop culture icons like Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali and Brigitte Bardot, many of which are bedazzled with "diamond dust", as seen in this video Young recently shared on Instagram.
Young, whose paintings are currently on display at galleries in London, Miami, and the Hamptons, launches his Heroes + Heroines show in Los Angeles next month. He counts an impressive array of celebrities as collectors of his starry silkscreens, including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joaquin Phoenix, Kate Moss, Mark Zuckerberg, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Drake, Jennifer Aniston, Kirsten Dunst, and—naturally—The Kardashians.