SKU: H31278
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The intensely raw introspection of Frida Kahlo’s self portraits are given a neon-drenched injection of psychedelic Beatlemania in Tears 4 Fears. A clever play on the iconic work ‘The Two Fridas’ (1939), Johnny Romeo re-envisions Kahlo’s tortured double portrait as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, their hearts exposed for all to see as their hands are clasped in union. The notable symbolism of the string and the pair of scissors used in Kahlo’s original painting remain in Romeo’s work, but take on a new light as the artist examines Lennon’s refusal to cut the chord between himself and Ono, despite the latter often being accused of breaking up The Beatles. Shades of youthful love are evident in both the depiction of exposed hearts and the positioning of the scissors in Lennon’s hands, which point to the number 4 to visually imply the phrase ‘John 4 Yoko’. Lennon and Ono’s creative and political partnership is alluded to in the powerful word assemblage ‘War Is Over’, an anti-war rallying cry for the duo’s famous Bed-In revolution which culminated in the 1971 song ‘Happy Xmas (The War Is Over)’. A master of visual puns, Romeo toys around with the notion of the Bed-In revolution by depicting the suited Lennon and the Kahlo-esque Ono as conjoined lovers sitting on a bed. The notion of the ‘Bed-in’ revolution takes on a darker character when applied to the current Corona virus and its implications of being bed-ridden and having to stay indoors due to Covid-19 lockdowns. ‘War Is Over’ then, with its subtle concealment of the word ‘Warp’, cunningly captures the way in which the Corona pandemic has warped normal life as we know it while also bearing the hopeful promise of new beginnings with its suggestion that the ‘warp is over if you want it’. This fear of the unknown is pithily captured in the title Tears 4 Fears and its cheeky nod to the acclaimed 80s synth-pop band Tears for Fears.
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Johnny Romeo is an internationally acclaimed Australian painter. Considered Australia’s leading Pop artist, Romeo is spearheading the global Neo-Expressionist Pop movement with his electrifying collision of rock’n’roll swagger, comic book aesthetics and street art. Described by GQ Magazine Australia as ‘part punk, part pop’, Romeo’s Kitsch Pop works are explosive sugar rushes of Technicolour imagery and urban grittiness that are turning heads worldwide.
Johnny Romeo ‘WHATEVER!’ Exhibition 2024
Johnny Romeo ‘FUTURE DAYS’ Exhibition 2023
Johnny Romeo ‘LANDED!’ Exhibition 2022
Affordable Art Fair Sydney 2022
Johnny Romeo ‘Choose Life’ Seaforth Exhibition 2022
Grand Seaforth Reopening Exhibition 2022
Johnny Romeo ‘The Sunny Side of the Moon’ Mosman Exhibition 2020
Johnny Romeo Pop-Up Exhibition Melbourne 2020
Johnny Romeo ‘To The Extreme’ Mosman Exhibition 2019
Johnny Romeo ‘The Last Days of Disco’ Mosman Exhibition 2018
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Acrylic and Oil on Canvas
124 x 124 cm Framed
A$8,895 Enquiry OnlyAcrylic and Oil on Canvas
124 x 124 cm Framed
A$8,895 Enquiry OnlyAcrylic and Oil on Canvas
124 x 124 cm Framed
A$8,895 Enquiry OnlyAcrylic and Oil on Canvas
124 x 124 cm Framed
A$8,895 Enquiry OnlyHarvey Galleries was founded by the Harvey family in 1994 with an eye to establish a dynamic and inclusive contemporary art space on the North Shore of Sydney. For almost three decades we have expanded our reach to over three gallery locations and an ever expanding stable of the best artists Australia has to offer.
Harvey Galleries acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands upon which our galleries stand. The Guringai people (Seaforth), the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation (Sydney), and the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation (Melbourne).
We pay our respect to Elders past and present.
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