AARON YOUNG
b. 1972, United StatesAaron Young is a contemporary artist who works across an array of media including sculpture, performance, photography and drawing. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001 and later received a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Art in 2004. Young is best known for his energetic yet often dangerous performance projects.
Among Young’s most notable works is his Burnout Series for which he tasked motorcycle riders and skateboarders to perform stunts within exhibition spaces on the top of aluminium surfaced panels coated with paint. The resulting panels, piled with layers of paint and burnt rubber, echo Jackson Pollock’s practice of action painting. Young uses these ephemeral and destructive actions to create works that reflect on urban rebel culture. Artists Chris Burden and Steven Parrino have been major influences.
The artist’s recent solo exhibitions have included Locals at Kukje Gallery, Seoul (2013); No Fucking Way at The Company, Los Angeles (2012); Spit & Bite Curse & Fight at Massimo De Carlo, London (2011); and THE RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills (2010). Aaron Young’s work is held worldwide in numerous collections that include the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo; Saatchi Gallery, London; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles.
Aaron Young lives and works in New York City.
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