Robert Longo
MEN IN THE CITIES (GRETCHEN AND ERIC), 1985
Two lithographs in three black colors on Arches 350g rag paper
71 5/8 x 35 7/8 in
182 x 91 cm
Edition of 48. Archive 1
Available at VFA
I believe I am a chronicler of the time that I live in with a moral imperative. I’m free of sponsorship or the government. - Robert Longo
The big, bold works of Robert Longo have traveled from an exhibit at the Albertina Museum in Vienna to the The Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen.
Longo’s works are based on newspaper photographs and the works of Old Masters and contemporary artists.
He makes each charcoal drawing very large, so that the viewer has to take time to actually see the entire work.
Longo was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island. He began his college career as an art history major, but was then trained at the State University College at Buffalo as a sculptor. He still creates sculptures, but his intricate charcoal drawings, which can take a year to complete (even with assistants) are what brought him recognition in the 1980s. Works from his Men in the Cities series, available at VFA, are what he is still best known for and still resonate today.
As a teenager, Longo became aware of how we only glimpse photographs and paintings, especially if they don’t affect us personally: In 1970, when he was 16, Longo saw a photograph of a 14-year-old girl kneeling over the body of one of the four students who was shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard during a Viet Nam War protest at Kent State. The body she knelt over was that of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller, a friend of Longo’s from high school. That moment became a turning point for Longo. He began to see the photographs of current events as deeply personal, affecting people if they would take the time to look.
The works of Robert Longo will be on view at the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen through August 31, 2025. Longo’s drawings, films and sculptures will be on view the the Pace Gallery in New York from September 10th through October 25, 2025. The exhibit, The Weight of Hope, is a sequel to a recent show of Longo’s works at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
This summer, Derrick Adams was honored with the 2025 Native Son Award (named for Richard Wright’s 1940 novel), for his celebratory works portraying joy and beauty of Black life and for his community involvement in his hometown of Baltimore and in Brooklyn, where he lives and works.
Adams, an Associate Professor of Art at Brooklyn College, will soon release a debut book, Derrick Adams, that highlights some of the most significant works from his 30-year career.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Robert Longo and Derrick Adams available at VFA.
References:
Robert Longo with Amanda Gluibizzi/In Conversation The Brooklyn Rail. October 2024.
Michelle Grabner. Robert Longo by Michelle Grabner: Chronicling the times with a moral perspective. Bomb Magazine. February 12, 2025.
Richard Pietras. Derrick Adams Accepts Prestigious 2025 Native Son Award for Bold Celebration of Black Identity. Brooklyn College/CUNY/News. June 12, 2025.
