Robert Loughlin Collection

Name: Untitled (bowl)
Brand: Robert Loughlin

Over the course of a more than a decade, Paul Johnson amassed an impressive collection of artworks by Robert Loughlin. In 2010, just a year before the artist's untimely demise, he hosted an exhibition at his private loft located at 191 Chrystie in New York City; the show included more than 400 works.

Sverre Bjertnes: If you really loved me you would be able to admit that you're ashamed of me

A Projective Identification by Bjarne Melgaard

In 2013 White Columns gallery in New York presented the first solo exhibition of works by Norwegian artist Sverre Bjertnes. The installation curated by the artist Bjarne Melgaard featured works by Bjertnes but also collaborative works Bjertnes made with Melgaard and his mother, Randi Koren Bjertnes, as well as a group of artworks by Robert Loughlin, an artist Melgaard became obsessed with. The exhibition, a work of art itself, was well received and reviews were included in several publications including, The New York Times Magazine, W Magazine and Artforum, among others.

Robert Loughlin 1949–2011

Robert Loughlin was a beloved artist and figure in the world of design. Born in Alameda, California in 1949, his interest in design flourished at a young age. By the 1970s, he opened two stores in San Francisco specializing in American Industrial Design. In 1980, he relocated to Miami Beach, Florida where he established a third store and also began painting.

After several years, he moved to New York City and opened the Executive Gallery where he became immersed in the art, design and gay subculture. Together with his knowledge of the New York market, he became known for his interior design work assisting clients such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Mapplethorpe. At this time, his repetitive imagery of the smoking square-jawed male figure began to appear across the city on found objects including doors, tables, bottles, skateboards, other works of art, and public spaces alike.

His artworks are collected by institutions such as The Carnegie Museum of Art and among personal collections including the artist Donald Baechler. Tragically, Robert Loughlin was struck by a car near his home in New Jersey in 2011.

Auction Results Robert Loughlin