July 6, 2023

September Solo Show: Ross Muir Returns to Maddox

Ross Muir’s clever reinvention of artworks for a modern audience has brought a fresh relevance to some of the best-known paintings in history. As the Scottish artist famous for dressing Van Gogh in Adidas gears up for his second solo exhibition with Maddox Gallery in September, let’s find out how the past year has seen an impressive surge in Ross’s fanbase and built further demand for his work.

Internationally known for reimagining famous historical artworks by adding personal flourishes and contemporary references to propel them firmly into the 21st century, Ross Muir’s art has a unique knack of resonating with the viewer. With a demographic that spans all ages, male and female, let’s take a closer look at this pivotal year for Ross, which has seen his work exhibited in major galleries, a high-profile TV appearance and growing anticipation for his next solo show.

A career-defining year.

2022 was a career-defining year for Ross, with a sell-out show at Maddox’s flagship Mayfair gallery, an invitation to paint a portrait as part of a six-part BBC series and his work exhibited at two major galleries in the UK.

The BBC’s Extraordinary Portraits matched normal people with extraordinary stories with some of the world’s most distinctive portrait artists. Hosted by rapper Tinie Tempah, Ross’s portrait of Jamie Dalgoutte depicts the strength and hope he saw in his sitter, who went through the care system and who, like Ross, is now building a better future for himself.

At the same time, Ross’s work was exhibited at The Walker in Liverpool and the Turner Contemporary in Margate, and he also expressed his views on one of his favourite artists, Vincent Van Gogh, in a video that formed part of the Scottish National Gallery’s major summer exhibition, ‘A Taste for Impressionism’.

Watch the episode

Art as a form of redemption.

Finding art has resulted in an infinitely more fulfilling life for Ross, whose battle with addiction is well documented. His upward trajectory in the art world didn’t begin until he was in his 30s, when he turned his life around by finally getting clean. “It was tough growing up in Glasgow, getting sucked into that underworld. It was chaos,” he recalls in Extraordinary Portraits. “Art has given me a focus. It made me feel human again.”

A self-confessed underdog, Ross’s openness and honesty about his past makes his transformation even more remarkable. Since becoming clean, for Ross art is a form of redemption - a place to pour all his energy, mentally, physically and creatively.

Frida, 2023, Oil on Linen, a work featuring in the artist's solo show at Maddox Gallery, The Bridge Home, opening 8th September

A unique ability to hit public consciousness.

Ross consistently refers to his “mission”, which is to make people think about art who would never normally contemplate it - something which he pulled off quite spectacularly during the pandemic. Posters of the artist's now-famous Square-Gogh portrait appeared all over the city of Glasgow urging people to stay at home. Emblazoned with the words “Jist Gogh Hame”, Ross wasn’t prepared for the reaction. A rework of a self-portrait of Van Gogh that dresses the Dutch artist in an Adidas tracksuit, it took the internet by storm and went viral on social media.

Whether it is Frida Kahlo styled in streetwear or Tretchikoff’s ubiquitous Green Lady painting, transposed with Jean-Paul Goude’s iconic head shot of Grace Jones, cigarette in mouth, Ross has wholly engaged the public with his stealthy references to subjects that his audience recognises and relates to, and perfect balance of sly humour and painterly technique.

His practice is incredibly diverse and requires him to immerse himself in the techniques of whichever artist he is focussed on at any given moment. “You end up in the mind of the artist you’re replicating,” he explains. As a completely self-taught artist, his ability to perfectly and identically replicate techniques shows exceptional skill.

Drawing on his past experiences of visiting art galleries and feeling like he didn’t belong, Ross’s September show will be all about what he describes as ‘The Bridge Home’; an artistic connection between the past and present and a message that art can provide the way to a better future.

Ross Muir’s The Bridge Home will open on 8th September at our Westbourne Grove Gallery.

ROSS MUIR: THE BRIDGE HOME

8TH SEPTEMBER TO 22ND OCTOBER

Following his sell-out show with Maddox in May of last year, Scottish artist Ross Muir returns to Westbourne Grove with a large body of new work, painted in his internationally recognised, viral style. Muir’s artworks reimagine famous historical artworks for modern times. With his stealthy references to subjects that his audience recognises and relates to and perfect balance of irreverent humour and painterly technique, expect more liberal references to contemporary culture as Muir revisits some of the best-known works in history, seamlessly binding the past and present.