Biography
Paul Rousso is an American-born visual artist and innovator. Educated at the California College of the Arts, his work is shown at galleries and art fairs around the globe.
A prodigious perfectionist, his technique has leapt into the future, as his vision and imagination merge to embrace new conceptual and physical technology the moment they appear on the horizon. The artist lives his context and vehemently pursues his objective.
Rousso relentlessly excels at his efforts to evolve as an artist who will put forth an enduring impact on subsequent generations with his life’s work, “Flat Depth.” This concept, which he has been refining his entire professional career, is the logical progression of modern art - to render a flat object three-dimensional, or to collapse a three-dimensional object into two dimensions - and is a fusion of countless complex artistic methods, including painting, printing, sculpting, welding, chemistry, digital manipulation and digital printing.
A student of both pop-art and deep classical culture, as well as the vast interceding spectrum, Rousso endeavors to express his commentary on the human condition while physically, psychically and temporally committing his entire life to the imaginative evolution of his visual artistry. Toward that end, his creative processes are linear and complex, with many pieces developing simultaneously, and painstakingly.
His first summer job - designing the Tribeca loft of Robert De Niro - combined with stints as a Hollywood scenic artist and a brief career steeped in the cosmetics industry as an art director at Grey Advertising on the Revlon account, lend a wry touch to the social commentary woven through his work, and his vast and encompassing worldview flavors everything he creates.
Rousso’s work is held in private collections over North America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond, and numerous public projects of his appear across the United States.
Raised in North Carolina, Rousso traces his inspiration to the paradoxes of the world around him and the work of the artists who began the conversation, as well as every artist through time who has advanced the subject or the art form. His work is deliberately attainable to nearly every viewer, and yet his classical training shines through as time-honored artistic conventions are woven through his work.
Rousso's fascination with paper - currency, advertising, newspapers, magazines - its history and use, its rise and fall, is an emblematic theme reflected frequently in his compositions. Despite the complexity of Rousso's artistic output, the character and subject matter of the art is relatable to all citizens of the world, so much so that it practically jumps off the wall, and straight into the viewer's gestalt.
Expositions
2017 - Times Suspended II, SmithDavidson Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017 - Art New York, New York City, USA
2017 - Time Suspended, Miami Country Day School, Miami, USA
2016 - Art Miami, USA
2016 - PAN Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016 - Mix and Match Exhibition, SmithDavidson Gallery Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016 - Art New York, New York, USA
2016 - Palm Beach Show, West Palm Beach Convention Center, USA
2015 - Art Miami, Miami, USA
2015 - PAN Art Fair, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2015 - Art New York, New York City, USA
2015 - LA Art Show, Los Angeles, USA
2014 - Scope Miami, Miami, USA
2014 - Scope New York, New York City, USA
2014 - LA Art Show, Los Angeles, USA
2013 - Art Miami, Miami, USA
2013 - Scope Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2013 - Scope New York, New York City, USA
2013 - Art Baltimore, Baltimore, USA
2013 - Art Wynwood, Miami, USA
2013 - ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, USA
2012 - 2012 Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG) recipient
2012 - ArHamptons, Bridgehamption, USA
2012 - Boston International Art Fair, Boston, USA
2012 - LA Art Show, Los Angeles, USA
2011 - The Butterfly Project, Holocaust Memorial. Sculpture for the Foundation of Shalom Park
2011 - Scope Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2011 - Scope New York, New York City, USA
2011 - Scope Miami, Miami, USA
2007 - Public painting for the Foundation of Shalom Park
2007 - Onessimo, Palm Beach Gardens, USA
2007 - FADA, Los Angeles, USA
2005 - Charlotte Bobcats Basketball Arena, A commission of six individual works of art for the new Arena.
2005 - Solo Exhibition, Charlotte, USA
2003 - Solo Paul Rousso Studio, Charlotte, USA
1997 - Charlotte International Airport, Charlotte, USA
1997 - NC Spirit Square Arts Center, Charlotte, USA
1994 - Solo Exhibition, Carillon Building, Charlotte, USA
1992 - Spirit Square Arts Center, Charlotte, USA
1992 - Solo, Paul Rousso Gallery, Charlotte, USA
1991 - Solo, Lincolnton Cultural Center, Lincolnton, USA
1991 - Solo, Paul Rousso Gallery, Charlotte, USA