CGG

CGG attended the wonderful fundraiser for the Art of Elysium last week hosted by Elijah Wood and Riley Keough. But the real star of the evening was the controversial artist himself, one of Britain's hottest painters, Russell Young, known for subverting celebrity images, who donated an entire body of work to this charity that is close to his heart. We caught up with him to find out just why he is so fond of the Art of Elysium, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of artists and critically ill children.

CGG: So, can you tell me how you got involved with The Art of Elysium?

RY:  I got involved through a friend who lived in the same apartment as Jennifer Howell, who’s the head of the Art of Elysium this year, and I was looking to have my first exhibition but I was sort of saving it for something, and this seemed like a great idea.  And I think the first exhibition I donated 33% to charity, I got 33% and the gallery got 33%.  And we’ve evolved into tonight where the charity’s getting 75% of the proceeds.  So, it sort of makes sense as a business model, where- you know- that the money we can raise from tonight we’ll do hundreds of workshops.

CGG: Does the gallery take a percentage tonight?

RY: No, no, the gallery, Milk, doesn’t take a percentage. This is my third exhibition within six months.  They are the greatest supporter.  [Mazdack] Rassi, who’s the head of Milk Gallery, I cannot say enough fine things about him.  So they’ve given us their space for free, they’ve given us all their staff for free, all there- I mean everything.  I’m very lucky to have such a wonderful place to show my work, and great collaborators.

CGG: The theme of tonight; why is it Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, David Bowie?

RY: When I was a 12 year old kid I put the makeup on my face, put the nail polish on and went off to see David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust.  And I had all these pictures on my wall as a kid, and it was only in later years I realized that Mick Rock was the photographer who took these pictures, and I’ve been pursuing him for maybe five years.  We have a friend in common, Robin Barton from the Bankrobber Gallery, which is my gallery and Mick’s gallery in London and he put us together. So it was a great, great, great collaboration. 

CGG: Have you done any workshops yourself with the kids?

 RY:  Oh, I do lots of workshops, yah, yah.  I mean, the pictures on the bar over there are of me working- I took Riley and Elijah Wood into a workshop last week.  Yah, I said to them, ‘Why don’t we get into workshops so that they really understand what it is that we do as a charity.’

CGG:  Can you tell me about one instance where you’ve really touched someone’s life?

RY: I worked with- if my memory serves correctly- with – and I mean sometimes I’m working with 60 kids- two huge, giant murals, other times I’m working with one person.  Well, one girl in particular who was 14 but had a mental age of maybe half of her age or less- and I was doing a workshop with her therapist for about two hours and it was going quite well so her therapist left me.  And then I was going through some hand painting with her and I put her hand in this bright electric pink paint and then before I could even put it on the paper, she held her hand up to her face and she screamed!  And I was a little startled, and the three people who were sitting with her went to her medical staff- from the therapist and the nurses- and then she burst out laughing.  And they said to me that the parents have never ever heard her laugh in her life.  So clearly, if I can reach that simply with art, you know.  

I do many creations with children with Polaroids for children, and a kid who may have- I’m probably going to say this and I give a little speech- but a kid who had chemotherapy, he wanted an apple so I drew an apple for him.  And he and his friends laughed.  So, the kids are bored, they’re lonely; sometimes they’re from Central Mexico- they’re away from their parents- so they’re really scared, facing things that you or I have never ever faced in our lives before- you know, death; I mean utter boredom.  So it makes them forget themselves for a few hours.

CGG: Do you help other artists get involved?

RY: Yes, yah.  There’s a guy called Bob Guiney who is actually the Bachelor, and he’s changed now, plays with a band and every time he does a gig- you know, there’s one thing in the band he does, he donates the proceeds to the charities.  And you know, I think taking the celebrities in as well helps and they go back- you know, they’re like repeat offenders and such!  And it really amazes me how we service in the last 12 months 20,000 children in LA hospitals.  So, tonight is not only a large show which we’re very proud of, but it’s also a lot for the charities in New York.  And we’re hoping to raise a million dollars, whereas three quarters of a million dollars worth of work is all for sale on the walls, and once we get a million dollars then we can bring that service to New York.

CGG: Is it something anyone can get involved in?  Can college kids get involved in this?

RY:  Yes, yes, absolutely.  

Return to CelebsGoneGood.

CGG attended the wonderful fundraiser for the Art of Elysium last week hosted by Elijah Wood and Riley Keough. But the real star of the evening was the artist himself, one of Britain's hottest young painters and printers, Russell Young, who dedicated and donated an entire body of work to a charity that is close to his heart. We caught up with him to find out just why he is so fond of the Art of Elysium.

CGG: So, can you tell me how you got involved with The Art of Elysium?

RY:  I got involved through a friend who lived in the same apartment as Jennifer Howell, who’s the head of the Art of Elysium this year, and I was looking to have my first exhibition but I was sort of saving it for something, and this seemed like a great idea.  And I think the first exhibition I donated 33% to charity, I got 33% and the gallery got 33%.  And we’ve evolved into tonight where the charity’s getting 75% of the proceeds.  So, it sort of makes sense as a business model, where- you know- that the money we can raise from tonight we’ll do hundreds of workshops.

CGG: Does the gallery take a percentage tonight?

RY: No, no, the gallery, Milk, doesn’t take a percentage. This is my third exhibition within six months.  They are the greatest supporter.  [Mazdack] Rassi, who’s the head of Milk Gallery, I cannot say enough fine things about him.  So they’ve given us their space for free, they’ve given us all their staff for free, all there- I mean everything.  I’m very lucky to have such a wonderful place to show my work, and great collaborators.

CGG: The theme of tonight; why is it Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, David Bowie?

RY: When I was a 12 year old kid I put the makeup on my face, put the nail polish on and went off to see David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust.  And I had all these pictures on my wall as a kid, and it was only in later years I realized that Mick Rock was the photographer who took these pictures, and I’ve been pursuing him for maybe five years.  We have a friend in common, Robin Barton from the Bankrobber Gallery, which is my gallery and Mick’s gallery in London and he put us together. So it was a great, great, great collaboration. 

CGG: Have you done any workshops yourself with the kids?

 RY:  Oh, I do lots of workshops, yah, yah.  I mean, the pictures on the bar over there are of me working- I took Riley and Elijah Wood into a workshop last week.  Yah, I said to them, ‘Why don’t we get into workshops so that they really understand what it is that we do as a charity.’

CGG:  Can you tell me about one instance where you’ve really touched someone’s life?

RY: I worked with- if my memory serves correctly- with – and I mean sometimes I’m working with 60 kids- two huge, giant murals, other times I’m working with one person.  Well, one girl in particular who was 14 but had a mental age of maybe half of her age or less- and I was doing a workshop with her therapist for about two hours and it was going quite well so her therapist left me.  And then I was going through some hand painting with her and I put her hand in this bright electric pink paint and then before I could even put it on the paper, she held her hand up to her face and she screamed!  And I was a little startled, and the three people who were sitting with her went to her medical staff- from the therapist and the nurses- and then she burst out laughing.  And they said to me that the parents have never ever heard her laugh in her life.  So clearly, if I can reach that simply with art, you know.  

I do many creations with children with Polaroids for children, and a kid who may have- I’m probably going to say this and I give a little speech- but a kid who had chemotherapy, he wanted an apple so I drew an apple for him.  And he and his friends laughed.  So, the kids are bored, they’re lonely; sometimes they’re from Central Mexico- they’re away from their parents- so they’re really scared, facing things that you or I have never ever faced in our lives before- you know, death; I mean utter boredom.  So it makes them forget themselves for a few hours.

CGG: Do you help other artists get involved?

RY: Yes, yah.  There’s a guy called Bob Guiney who is actually the Bachelor, and he’s changed now, plays with a band and every time he does a gig- you know, there’s one thing in the band he does, he donates the proceeds to the charities.  And you know, I think taking the celebrities in as well helps and they go back- you know, they’re like repeat offenders and such!  And it really amazes me how we service in the last 12 months 20,000 children in LA hospitals.  So, tonight is not only a large show which we’re very proud of, but it’s also a lot for the charities in New York.  And we’re hoping to raise a million dollars, whereas three quarters of a million dollars worth of work is all for sale on the walls, and once we get a million dollars then we can bring that service to New York.

CGG: Is it something anyone can get involved in?  Can college kids get involved in this?

RY:  Yes, yes, absolutely.