Paul Rousso
B. 1958
American
North Carolina-based artist Paul Rousso has long been fascinated with transforming two-dimensional objects into three-dimensional – a concept and process he coined as “flat depth” at 19 years old. His subject matter has included items with long cultural histories steeped in controversy and volatility. Using imagery drawn from print advertisements, newspapers, magazines, commercial packaging, and paper currency, he creates larger-than-life mixed-media sculptures. By playing with scale, the artwork feels oddly familiar, yet the oversized object has an ominous presence. By blowing up the size of currency bills, news headlines, or candy wrappers, the viewer is left to confront the true intentions of the original objects. The shift in feeling is hard to dismiss when the small is suddenly large. Rousso states that his work is also an homage to printmaking, as those objects, like bills, newsprint, and magazines, are gradually fading from popularity and necessity with the rise of digital content.
Rousso earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts in 1981. His work is shown at galleries and art fairs around the globe and is in private collections throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. He also worked as a scenic artist for Warner Brother’s Studios and a fashion illustrator for Grey Advertising in New York, where he eventually became art director and led successful campaigns for Revlon, Clairol, and Condé Nast in the 1980s. By 1990 however, Rousso dedicated himself to his fine art career and returned to his home state of North Carolina, where he lives today in Charlotte.
