A warm summer night at the Rivington Street Gallery in the chic downtown SoHo area of New York City brought a large crowd of art lovers, collectors and a line of young fans out to meet the local celebrity cult artist Marko Stout and see some of his latest works from his “Erotic Dreams” collection. This was offered as a limited preview for the artist upcoming solo show this fall at the Art Nation Gallery in Times Square.
Upon entering Stout’s exhibition one was greeted by a deviant seven foot leather clad female sculpture topped by a malevolent white rabbit head. Alongside the piece 3 large LED sets ran erotic videos including a 20 minute close-up of a young women working herself to an intense sexual orgasm. Next the gallery guests were exposed to Stout’s vibrant fiery aluminum prints full of attitude and bombarded with the artist’s profound quotes- such as, “free your mind, “victim of the rules” and others.
Intermingled among the gallery crowd where many of the young New York models from Marko Stout’s works- some of who were seen wearing black rabbit masks themselves. Throughout the three hour show Marko Stout was overwhelmingly inundated by a crowd of downtown millennials, collectors, dealers and art enthusiasts- however I was able to pull the artist aside for a few brief questions
I asked Stout what was the meaning of the rabbit headed sculpture with the erotic video imagery?
Stout: “It’s a twist on the Alice in Wonderland theme, only in this case Alice follows the deviant little bunny into downtown New York.”
You were labeled the “quin essential New York artist” by the Huffington Post. Do you think that’s true?
Stout: “Sure, that sounds about right. I mean I like the way that sounds. My art certainly could not exist outside of the city.”
I read that you recently had record breaking sales at the ArtExpo show in New York last spring. Do this mean you will you be doing more of these group shows in the future?
Stout: “We’re exhibiting some of my work at (Art) Basel in Miami this December and maybe some stuff at the Armory show here in New York. But, for now I have some solo shows and other gallery commitments we’re focusing on”.
What would you say your style is?
Stout: “Cool”.
Would you consider it Pop Art?
Stout: “I heard it referred to as Industrial Pop. I kind of like that. So, let’s stick with Industrial Pop Art”.
After meeting Marko Stout, viewing his works and listening to the crowd of gallery attendees, one is left with the impression that Marko Stout is a rising rock star of the art world.
