Rob's 'Most Wanted' Portrait in HQ. Artist Richard Phillips Talks More About it

Richard Phillips talks to VanityFair about Rob's portrait

“After holding a contest within my studio to find the best red carpet face from the constant river of images, a composite was made from the best of the best of Pattinson’s expressions. The colorful and detailed Louis Vuitton background was to suggest a fictitious brand endorsement context that was commensurate with his position as the most popular member of the group. The difficulty became not how to render his face so he could be seen, but how to paint his presence so he could be inescapably felt when standing in front of the painting. My painting of Robert Pattinson began to fulfill its intention of giving pause, to question our relationship to the constant appearance and simultaneous dismissal of our disembodied selves in relation to a system that generates a forced intimacy with commercially enforced exceptionalism.”

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“Most Wanted” opens January 27 at White Cube in London and is on display until March 5.

And for those in New York:  The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is pleased to announce that artist Richard Phillips will be giving the second ArtTalk of 2011, to be held at Christie’s on Wednesday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. ArtTalks, the AFA’s lecture series, features notable figures in the art world. Following Phillips’s lecture, audience members are invited to participate in a question-and-answer session and wine reception. In-kind support for ArtTalks is provided by Christie’s. Tickets can be purchased online here.

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Kristen's portrait is also featured in Phillips' "Most Wanted' Series. In case you missed it