MARKO STOUT: The fees are determined by the gallery not me. We’re showing my work at high end galleries now so the cost of the works has gone up greatly. That’s good for me… NYC is an expensive town!
MARKO STOUT: I had some success early on when I live in San Francisco and thing really started to happen for me once I moved to New York and the last year as really been a wild ride!
MARKO STOUT: My solo shows have moved to larger galleries and l usually exhibit about 20-30 pieces, some video art and maybe a few sculptures. This seems to be the correct size for my shows.
MARKO STOUT: That’s good company to be in. I love Koon’s use of vivid colors- obviously that had an influence on my work. And Andy Warhol is really the father of modern art as we know it today. He is the first real American artist with a style totally different than the old traditional European painters- way cooler and more democratic… more American!
MARKO STOUT: The freedom to create work that I like- that’s success. Also, now having solo shows in large established galleries with thousands of fans showing up to the exhibitions and the work selling for much larger sums now… I need to eat!
Who are the artists that have influenced you throughout your artistic career or your life and how did they make an impact on you?
MARKO STOUT: All kinds of art. I really admire Andy Warhol, he took things in a different direction and opened up what art could be. Really gave Americans their own style and voice in the art world. Lately been getting into the photographer Miron Zownir- I like his nonjudgmental approach to his subjects. Very interesting stuff… you should check out his “RIP NYC” series- very cool.
MARKO STOUT: It’s a long but interesting story that ends with me living on a houseboat outside San Francisco and hangout drinking wine and smoking weed with a friend who owned an art gallery in the area- he actually was to be a roadie for the Grateful Dead in the 70s. Anyway, he got me into painting and even sold some of my works in his gallery. So that really got me interested in art professionally, as a career. I few more wild twists in life found me living in New York City and that’s when things really started to happen for me!
MARKO STOUT: I really don’t like classifications it seems way too limiting. I saw on Wikipedia that they called my style “industrial pop”. I’m not sure what that is, but I kind of like that term. As far as my work evolving over the years, I find it becoming a bit more minimalist in style. I can say much more and get directly to the point with more intensity now.How do you stay relevant among other artists? Do you reinvent yourself constantly? What is your secret? I live and play in New York City- the town really keep you current on edge. It forces you to stay current with trends and movement to remain relevant. My recent exhibitions have been packed with younger fans in their 20s and 30s. Not much gray hair at my shows- except for some of the media and art dealers, and maybe a few of mine now.
MARKO STOUT: I detest these narrow-minded bullies! They’re usually uneducated and don’t understand modern art. Censors have no place in a modern democratic society!
MARKO STOUT: I really like a larger piece titled “Erotic Nightmares”- there is an intensity to the image especially the eyes that really captures what I was going for- it’s one of my favorites. I also like a series of pieces called “Lips” since it was a large series that sold very well, and we collected large fees with licensing and merchandising the images—I need to eat and Manhattan is an expensive town!
MARKO STOUT: I put the good reviews on my website and pay no attention to the bad ones- since they obviously missed the point. I make art for myself and my fans- not critics. The French Impressionist all had bad review in their day and now their works are in every major museum and collection and sell for hundreds of millions.
MARKO STOUT: I’m not a big fan of current mainstream big budget Hollywood pics- they’ve become way too corporate and formulaic. I love the smaller indie movies and art films which need a venue to be shown. Way too many of the smaller arthouse theaters have closed in New York because of greedy landlords looking to make fast money and not caring about culture. We need to reverse this trend and get our smaller much better art films seen.
MARKO STOUT: I have a really cool solo exhibition opening at Caelum Gallery in New York City this fall. The opening night is 10/18/19. I love this gallery, it’s one of the more beautiful and prestigious galleries in the center of Chelsea, where all the world’s hottest art shows are exhibited. It’s also a nice large size to accommodate the crowds and properly exhibit my work.
MARKO STOUT: I’ve seen much more wild stuff then mine, so not sure why some find it shocking. I actually pulled my art and cancelled an exhibition at the World Trade Gallery in downtown New York last year when their owners tried to censor my work a few weeks before the exhibition was set to open. They did not want to offend the Wall Street crowd that passes the gallery on the way to work. Crazy! They’re exactly to type of people I want to offend. My exhibition was replaced by a retrospective of flower paintings they called sexy and edgy- it was neither!
MARKO STOUT: My works are very modern and very urban- I think a Midwest farmer would have problems relating. Inspiration for me comes from my surroundings and I surround myself with all types of interesting people in New York City. I like telling their stories and what’s going on in their head- its often quite amazing.
MARKO STOUT: A large-scale retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum is my ultimate goal. The Guggenheim is architecturally the best and most flattering place for my work- it will be an amazing show! We’ll have my vibrant paintings and prints on the spiraling walls with video art, sculpture works and experimental music- I can’t wait! Also, a solo exhibition at MOMA- that’s the validation that you really made it and also my favorite museum.
Marko Stout Answers Some of His Fans Questions!!