Scooter LaForge

Last updated

Scooter LaForge
Born1971 (age 5253)
Education
Occupationartist
Awards Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant [1]
Website scooter-laforge.com

Scooter LaForge (born 1971) is an American artist based in New York's East Village. [2] He is a painter and sculptor, and has a line of clothing for Patricia Field and has collaborated with other fashion designers. LaForge's work is "inspired by the old masters, cute fluffy animals, and sometimes iconic cartoons," [3] drawing from a number of pop culture and artistic references, ranging from Disney [4] and Popeye [5] to Keith Haring and Rembrandt. [6]

Contents

The New York Times has described his work as "recalling the Neo-Expressionism that was popular in the '80s, the manic Neo-Surrealism of George Condo, and the comics-to-graffiti-to-canvas style of Kenny Scharf." [4] Pop culture journalist Michael Musto has called him "my favorite living artist". [7]

Early life

LaForge was born Scooter James LaForge [8] in 1971 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. [5]

Work

LaForge earned his BFA from the University of Arizona in 1993, [5] and began his career as a painter in San Francisco. [6] He moved to New York City in 2001, [3] where he attended the Cooper Union School of Art under a fellowship. [9] His art is in the collections of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art [10] and Beth Rudin DeWoody. [11]

LaForge has a line of hand-painted, unique clothing items that are sold through fashion stylist Patricia Field. [12] He has twice collaborated with Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck. [13] [14] His clothing has been worn by Susanne Bartsch, [15] Sandra Bernhard, [16] Beyoncé, [9] Miley Cyrus, [6] Boy George, [3] Debbie Harry, [9] Nicki Minaj, [3] Madonna, [9] Iggy Pop, [3] Rihanna, [6] and Lil Wayne. [3]

Exhibitions

Solo

Group

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References

  1. "Scooter LaForge". Howl!.
  2. "'Public Art as Protest' debuts at Howl! Happening". EV Grieve. August 13, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "21 Questions with Scooter LaForge". TNB. June 17, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week". New York Times. April 14, 2017. p. C22.
  5. 1 2 3 "Scooter LaForge, New York, USA". oddities + objets d'arts + outsider.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Lehrer, Adam (August 4, 2015). "Artist Scooter LaForge Has Found a New Art Medium in Clothing, Taking His Career to New Heights". Forbes.
  7. Musto, Michael (August 30, 2022). "My favorite living artist, Scooter LaForge, gets his moment in an imminent doc called Scooter LaForge, A Life of Art. Patricia Field, Gazelle Paulo, Gail Thacker, myself and others pop up in the trailer, and Scooter himself offers hints at his pain, his yearning, and his brush strokes". Facebook.
  8. Lee, Denny (July 27, 2003). "Has Billburg Lost Its Cool?". New York Times.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Scooter LaForge". Printed Editions.
  10. Casals, Gonzalo; Parness, Noam, eds. (2019). Queer Holdings: A Survey of the Leslie-Lohman Museum Collection. Munich: Hirmer Verlag. p. 214. ISBN   9783777431932.
  11. "Scooter LaForge". Artland.
  12. La Ferla, Ruth (February 14, 2019). "Gender-Fluid Style: Street Wear, Club Gear and Lace". New York Times. p. D5.
  13. van Straaten, Laura (March 3, 2015). "Scooter LaForge's Paintings Suit Walter Van Beirendonck (and Beyonce, Too)". T Magazine.
  14. Schneier, Matthew (January 20, 2017). "A Pagan Message of Renewal at Walter Van Beirendonck's Show". New York Times.
  15. Wilson, Patti (January 2016). "Yes. It's Me... Susanne Bartsch". Vogue Italia . No. 785. Milan. pp. 198–221.
  16. "Scooter LaForge". handbook. June 7, 2010.