I first heard of Guido’s work approximately a year or so after I had relocated from New York to Milan. I remember I was sitting in the living room of my new apartment when my eyes caught sight of an invitation to this young Milanese artist’s event. Looking back, I’m certain I would have never looked at the invitation twice if it wasn’t for the miniature portrait of a mysterious woman holding her fingers dangerously close to her parted lips. It was sensual. It was carnal. It was absolutely inspiring.
(Inspiring enough for me to hold up a paintbrush after years of negligence and “destroy” my newly white-washed walls with stencils of scantily clad women peeking over their shoulders.)
Fast-forward a couple of years: Duty Gorn, Guido’s alias, is still all the rage in Milan… and Europe.
The man clearly draws inspiration from the master of Pop art (Warhol), edgy street art and enigmatic femme fatales. Although he’s also known to be an exceptional graphic artist, he remains true to acrylics and temperas on canvases. As for his subjects, they are predominantly women with beautiful complexions that are brought to life with vivid colors highlighting their jaw-dropping features. Or, one can describe them as intimate snapshots of silver screen divas and suggestive bohemian muses on canvases.
The fluidity that characterizes Duty Gorn’s pieces are brimming with sensual movement –I believe that these inherent qualities are accountable for seducing some big names in the fashion industry to work alongside him for a number of projects. It almost goes without saying that each venture of Duty Gorn’s manages to echo the times we live in and the feelings that are conjured on a daily basis. His creativity brings a certain soulfulness to subject matters that somehow fit into our dreary urban settings, alighting them with an uncontrolled fire of emotions.
If you happen to be in Milan and want to view his works in person, you have time until the 25th of January 2013 to see his latest personal exhibition at the XL Combines Gallery (Via Montevideo 9).
Design Academy Eindhoven
Parsons
Academy of Design Australia
Central Saint Martins
LOFT 42
World Architecture Festival
