In the first of our ongoing Meet-the-Artist series, we present distinctive New Yorker and artist Max Rosen:
How would you describe your art?
I use humor and surreal images to depict the madness that lurks right below the surface in us all. Stylistically, my work is influenced by everything I absorbed coming of age in NYC in the 1970s. The air was thick with graffiti, comic books, and the exploding Street Art movement with all its Pop Art connections. I devoured every bit of it. People often see themselves in my work, and everyone gets something a bit different. My art has been described as funny, bizarre, modern, badass, and psychologically complex. Who am I to argue with that?
Where are you based, and does your location have any influence on your art?
I’ve lived in New York City my entire life, which has influenced my art in a thousand ways. Having daily access to many of the greatest museums and galleries in the world is awe-inspiring.
Did you know you wanted to be an artist as a child, and did you go to art school? If not, how did your art path develop?
I knew I wanted to be an artist from the moment I could hold a pencil. I got bad report cards, where teachers wrote, “all he wants to do is draw.” Luckily my parents supported my creativity, and sent me to the famed High School of Music and Art, where I flourished. Then I attended the School of Visual Arts and studied Art History at Columbia University.
But my path was not straightforward at all. In 1980, when I was 19, I got discouraged and burned all my artwork – every single piece of it – in a giant bonfire in an alley in New York’s Lower East Side. I swore to quit art altogether, and kept my word for decades. That’s why I’m so obsessed with art now – I’m feverishly making up for all that lost time! Finally achieving my dreams of being an artist, and getting public recognition for my work, is the most thrilling thing that’s ever happened to me.
Defective Characters
Knowing it’s impossible to choose a favorite piece (it’s like having to choose a favorite child), what is one of your pieces that you absolutely love?
My favorite piece is “Defective Characters” – an alphabet where each letter stands for a different Character Defect. So A is for Apathy, C is for Cruelty, T is for Terror, and so on. This alphabet opened up a whole new world that I’ll be exploring for a long time. It’s now available as a 44-color museum-quality fine art lithograph print which took 6 months of hard work to produce. I absolutely love this print.
A Is For Apathy
How do you market and promote your artwork or portfolio website? Where can readers purchase your art?
In the beginning, I walked around NYC showing my art to anyone who would look, and I asked everyone I knew for advice. Amazingly, it worked. My work is now available in 4 ways:
At the Philippe Labaune Gallery in Chelsea
At the Museum of Graffiti in Miami
From Artra Worldwide
And directly from me, on my website https://www.maxrosen.art/
Pulling A Face
How do you see your work evolving? Do you have any specific goals, or do you follow your inspiration where it leads you?
My goal is to see my works huge: As giant sculptures, for example, and murals on the sides of buildings. Other than that, I just follow my brain wherever it goes.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be instead?
Well, I have a day job, which I love: I run Indigo Productions, a leading New York City video production company: https://www.indigoprod.com/ We have lots of clients in the world of arts and entertainment, as well as tons of corporate and commercial clients.
Did anyone else greatly influence your art – for example, a relative, another artist, a particular art era or movement, or a muse?
My mom was a classical musician. I saw how much joy she got from her art, and she always encouraged me to pursue my art.
What is your perspective on museums and galleries in 2024? Can they be improved, and if so, how? Do you have a favorite museum?
My only complaint is that they close too early! I’m constantly getting kicked out before I’m done. I hate hearing the words, “we’re closing in 15 minutes.” My favorite museum is The Metropolitan Museum of Art – I’ve been there at least 1000 times over the decades.
Psychedelic Robot Baby
What is your perspective on Artificial Intelligence and whether or not it can be used as a tool for artists. If it can be, how would it be used?
Some AI art is amazing. I don’t use AI, because I prefer doing my art by hand. But at this year’s Whitney Biennial, my single favorite piece of art was made using AI. The big controversy is that living artists are getting ripped off when AI remixes and repurposes their work without permission. So there are benefits and dangers, as with all technology.
Do you have a favorite artist or one you find inspiring?
I have several favorite artists: Picasso, Salvador Dali, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and Jan van Eyck to name a few. With a dash of Andy Warhol thrown in just for fun.
What is the tough thing about being an artist, and what is the great aspect of it?
The toughest thing about being an artist is having an idea that I can’t quite execute. Sometimes I attempt a piece over 100 times and still can’t get it, which is incredibly frustrating. But when it finally comes out right, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. Nothing beats it!
The Hand of God
What is your schedule as an artist… Do you work by day or night, or both, and do you work as long as you please or do you slate particular time frames for creating?
I’m most creative early in the morning, and also in the evening. I start drawing or painting at 6 AM and work for about 3.5 hours. Then I usually quit until about 7 PM, and work until I fall asleep with a pencil or brush in my hand. Luckily I don’t need a lot of sleep, and my wife supports me 100%.
Fear
Do you have any exciting, heartening, disheartening, or alarming customer tales?
Well, I find it hilarious that people keep asking me to do portraits of their family. My response is always, “have you actually seen my work? Don’t you love your family? Why on earth would you want me to depict them?”
Heart In Flames
Is it sometimes tough to part with a piece you created because you put so much of yourself in it?
Yes! I have a large stash of art that I’d never part with. It’s very tough for me to give up anything I’ve made. That’s partly why I decided to publish limited edition prints, because I can keep some for myself.
Do you gift loved ones and friends with art, or keep those realms separate and view it strictly as a business?
I’ve given art to friends and relatives, with a large batch of drawings going to my little nephew Enzo. To my surprise, I recently learned that a childhood friend now uses a portrait I made of him decades ago as his current Facebook image.
What do you want to tell readers about the art world?
Read “Get The Picture,” by Bianca Bosker. It’s a funny and enlightening peek inside the weird, secretive, and opaque world of art.
Screaming Lizard
How did you choose the particular type of art you create over other types of art? Do you go through phases where you’ll try different mediums, sizes, styles of art or do you deep dive into the area you want to fully fathom?
I try all kinds of mediums, and enjoy switching back and forth. I’m recently getting back into animation, which I haven’t done since the early 1980s.
Angry Purple Brain
Do you have any insightful tips for emerging artists?
I’ll repeat one of my favorite quotes, by the brilliant artist Chuck Close: “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”
Green Hand
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