Johnny Romeo - Galaxy Cattle
Newtown painter Johnny Romeo rages against the mundane
By Rhiannon Elston
There's nothing subtle about the work of Johnny Romeo. It comes barrelling down at you from the canvas in a mess of energy, colour and chaos. Exactly, says the artist, the way life is lived.
"I am a pop painter and that means you've constantly got to work with the times," he says. "Stuff that's topical is very relevant."
Using a fusion of oil paint, acrylic, stencils and lettering, Romeo's latest show Galaxy Cattle boasts no less than 63 pieces, each a depiction of the struggle between consumer culture and the self. "My work is about the rise of the mass media and the fall of the individual," says Romeo, a graduate of COFA and the University of Western Sydney.
Each piece is wriggling with action, with everything from soccer players to scorpions fighting for your attention. It's almost overwhelming, but that, says Romeo, is the point. "There is a sense of ‘rage against the machine' if you like. I am trying to fight the rebellion, but at the same time I like people to be able to make up their own minds when they look at my work."
With up to four paintings in the pipeline at any one time, Romeo is never at a loss for ideas. "Everyone says to me it's crazy, there are so many works, but I'm really into the art-making process. Sometimes it comes out in 30 paintings and sometimes it takes a lot longer. For me to be able to paint that naturally, it's really exciting. I never get bored of it."
Johnny Romeo's Galaxy Cattle shows at NG Art Gallery, 3 Little Queen St, Chippendale, until July 26.