ROB PRUITT

f(untitled), faces, 2019

f(untitled), faces, 2019 - Translating his iconic, candy-colored smiley faces from a traditional gallery setting into the Hudson Yards space, Pruitt shares these marked pastel gradations with a new, expanded audience. This body of work is based on a childhood experience of viewing Mark Rothko paintings with his father, who joked, “Wouldn’t it be better if the artist had drawn a face on it?” Collectively composed within this monumental span of the wall,  the spectrum of palettes and mixed emotions beckon viewers to identify with their own mood swings and connect with a face in the crowd.

Rob Pruitt is a contemporary american artist working in painting, installation, and sculpture, although he does not identify with a single style or medium. Translating personal and biographical experience into broader socio-political statements, Pruitt’s work is eclectic and ironic, often striving to achieve a spectacle while retaining a sense of social, cultural, or artistic critique. His exhibition highlights include Kunsthalle Zurich, Pallazzo Grassi in Venice, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and Aspen Art Museum, among others. Rob Pruitt is represented by Gavin Brown’s Enterprise.