Born as Charles Rogers Grooms, Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist and engraver born on June 7, 1937. He is an eminent “pop artist”. ‘Pop Art’ was an art movement that began in the 1950s in the US and reached its peak in the 1960s. Its central characters were inspired by everyday life. ‘Pop Art’ portrays wild and exciting themes of modern urban life. Red Grooms is also famous for his ‘Sculpto-Pictoramas’, a term he used for his unique work. The artist used sculpting wire, vinyl, stretch cloth, wood, and other materials in his works, usually with various human figures. Grooms made his most famous installation, “City of Chicago,” in 1967.
Red made this famous installation together with his wife Mimi Gross, a painter. “City of Chicago” was a three-dimensional installation depicting a tongue-in-cheek view of city life, never before witnessed. Localized landmarks and residents exhibiting a mixed expression of comedy, celebration, and horror, were portrayed with absolute finesse and perfection. Initially, the figures in this work seemed funny, which on sharp observation seemed ironic, expressing the truth of society. The hallmark of the “City of Chicago” was buildings portrayed in large-scale scenes, with flat figures going about the activities of daily life.
His most famous installation, “City of Chicago”, was a success and Grooms had a feature on the cover of ‘Look’ magazine. This large, colorful ‘sculpture-pictorama’ was a landmark of its kind in the field of ‘Installation Art’. “City of Chicago” was first shown at Frumkin Gallery, California. The installation now adorns the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
Grooms’s other famous ‘sculptor-pictorama’, aside from ‘City of Chicago’, was ‘Ruckus Manhattan’ (1975), which beautifully depicted people strolling through the entertaining scenes of Lower Manhattan, from Wall Street to Chelsea. Red continued to paint scenes inspired by New York City. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he dedicatedly painted ‘New York Stories’. This was a series of paintings and sculptures, showing the life of the city. His other most famous work is ‘Ruckus Rodeo’. In all of these works, Red travels from Manhattan to Fifth Avenue, while portraying the Statue of Liberty, Saks, the Rockefeller Center skating rink, and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Overall, “City of Chicago” and “Manhattan Rampage” were the biggest and most critical points in Groom’s career. All of Red’s most famous works, including “City of Chicago,” had raging colors and concepts, portrayed through different mediums. His works were inspired by the busy and variedly active life in different parts of the United States. Red Grooms portrayed these concepts with a humorous and sarcastic taste. The artist continues to inspire younger generations, eager to exploit their talents.
