ROBERT LONGO, Untitled (Hercynian)

ROBERT LONGO, Untitled (Hercynian), 2011
Exhibition poster
H 59.4 × W 99.6 cm (23.1 × 38.9 in) 
Unframed

Kalkeriet is pleased to present, in collaboration with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, a poster featuring 'Untitled (Hercynian)' by American artist Robert Longo (b. 1953), released in conjunction with Louisiana’s 2025 exhibition of the artist.

Longo is internationally acclaimed for his monumental, hyperrealistic charcoal drawings in black and white. His work captures the intense visual overload of contemporary media culture, isolating and amplifying dramatic, high-impact imagery. He selects his source material—often drawn from news, film, or popular culture—and reworks it through meticulous draftsmanship on an epic scale.

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Longo originally studied art history before turning to sculpture at the State University College in Buffalo. There, he also developed a deep interest in film and began a lasting artistic exchange with Cindy Sherman. In the late 1970s, they moved to New York, becoming central figures in the so-called “Pictures Generation,” alongside artists like Richard Prince and David Salle—an era marked by a critical examination of mass media and consumer society.

Longo’s breakthrough came with his 1981 series Men in the Cities—dynamic images of sharply dressed figures frozen in contorted poses, as if caught between dance and collapse. These works remain iconic representations of 1980s art. Over the decades, Longo has continued to explore powerful symbols and archetypes, from guns, bombs, and bullet holes to natural forces, refugees, religion, and terrorism. His career also spans directing music videos and the cult cyberpunk film 'Johnny Mnemonic'.