Inspired by the psychedelic and surrealist painters who came before him, Richmond-based artist Donnie Green paints pop culture icons from a critical perspective in a style that is meant to entertain and intrigue viewers.
Inspired by the psychedelic and surrealist painters who came before him, Richmond-based artist Donnie Green paints pop culture icons from a critical perspective in a style that is meant to entertain and intrigue viewers.
Green grew up in Ashland before moving to Richmond, and then spent the next part of his life traveling around the country, including some time based in Los Angeles. Now back in Richmond for five years, Green has grounded himself in the city he once called home in order to take care of his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
His latest exhibit of artwork, “Pop Vulture,” was displayed at the Visual Arts Studio on Broad Street. The collection of paintings included brightly colored references to pop cultures icons in unconventional settings.
“In the last several years I’ve explored a lot of pop culture icons and kind of juxtaposed them and kind of put them in situations where they actually shouldn’t be,” Green said. “I started thinking of pop culture, and then I started thinking about how the media builds all of these people up to being like deities or something of god-like status. And as soon as they drop the halo, they come in like vultures and they circle around them and they take them apart and they kind of destroy them.”
Green’s goal with his art is to always push the envelope, and not get too comfortable with one style. He says that “Pop Vulture” represents an era of his artistic life where he needed the comical style of painting to get through harder times.
“I find that if you get too comfortable with one thing you’re not really growing as an artist,” Green said. “I like to know that when people see my artwork they aren’t offended, they’re probably laughing or at least smiling. I look at it as a gift from me to whomever.”
In honor of his mother, Green decided to display “Pop Vulture,” his first show in Richmond in nine years, as a way to raise money for her expensive Alzheimer’s care.
“It was a really tough journey,” Green said about his mother’s battle with the disease. “I asked myself, ‘what can I do?’ And the answer is, I can paint.”
Influenced by artists like Robert Williams, H.R. Giger and Salvador Dali, Green’s paintings use vibrant colors to draw viewers into a psychedelic visual experience.
“I like to put the color where color doesn’t seem like it should fit,” Green said. “I just hope that people will look at my art and lighten up.”
Not all viewers of his art have been responsive to it, due to the controversial depiction of some pop culture icons, such as “Kanye Gump,” which combines Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (pictured above) with Forrest Gump, and “The Douche Show,” a ghoulish portrayal of Justin Bieber. {below}
“I’ve had a lot of people really love it, and I’ve had a few people who have been offended by certain paintings,” Green said. “What one person may think is inappropriate another person may think is hilarious.”
To Green, the critics of his work don’t matter as long as it gets one person to smile.
Green continues to make his vibrantly colored paintings of pop culture figures for his upcoming show in December at Hyaena Gallery in Los Angeles. The show will be a collection of paintings with a classic country music theme, paying homage to the classic country artists of the past.
“When I say country I’m not thinking about that new pop-country crap,” he said. “I’m talking about the classic stuff back when there was still some guts in it.”
