Picture this: David Bowie, Bruce Lee, Frida Kahlo and a gathering of Pop culture’s most famous figures all sitting at the table for dinner. The Beautiful Peopleperfectly distils Johnny Romeo’s inimitable Kitsch Pop style into a visual color feast for the senses. The concept was born out of the boredom and isolation brought upon by being in lock-down during the Covid-19 crisis, the series yearns for connection by exploring a thought-provoking premise: who would you invite, dead or alive, to your dream dinner party?
In Romeo’s fantasy feast, eccentric surrealist visionary Salvador Dali rub shoulders with Afro futurist funkster Prince and Pop Art’s very own mastermind, Andy Warhol. Slick, graphic line work, hues and razor-sharp word assemblages all come together to create a body of work with an attitude that captures the glamour of Pop culture’s most revered celebrities and icons.
This series is well rooted in the multi-layered artistry for which Johnny Romeo is known.
There is an air of the sacred toThe Beautiful Peoplethat reflects modern society’s fascination with deifying celebrities, transforming them into gods and modern-day saints. Romeo sharply makes this point through his carefully curated dinner guest-list, which comprises solely of tragic artists and dead celebrities.
Johnny Romeo draws inspiration from a truly eclectic spectrum of music, ranging from beats of jazz, rhymes of hip hop and the punchiness of punk. The Beautiful People takes its title from shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s 1996 anthem of the same name. The title is a statement of intent that celebrates the perpetual allure of Pop culture’s ‘Beautiful People’, while lamenting these same icons as tragic figures gone too quickly before their time.
The Beautiful People is a bombastic celebration of the larger-than-life celebrities and creative visionaries that make Pop culture such a fascinating aspect of our everyday life. Like a seasoned chef masterfully curating their signature menu, Australia’s leading Pop artist delivers a vivacious visual banquet full of color and humor that gives Swedish audiences a delectable first taste of Johnny Romeo’s signature Kitsch Pop style.
See available artworks by Johnny Romeo here.