Bush 2007, 863 x 561 mm

“Yeo was commissioned to undertake a portrait of US President George W. Bush, but was later told his services were not required. He decided to continue the commission on his own, and Tuesday’s unveiling (revealed) the fruit of his labours. In a few weeks time we will be releasing a limited-edition screenprint of the Bush collage,” a spokesperson for Lazarides said.

British artist Jonathan Yeo, followed through with a portrait of George W. Bush after the Bush Library reportedly backed out of a portrait they’d commissioned from the artist. Yeo is known for his very distinctive portraits of politicians, that combine photographic realism with a painterly touch. This portrait comes as no exception; it masterly incorporates the clippings of 100 porn magazines to generate the right skin tones. The portrait is on display at the Lazarides gallery on Greek Street in London.

Members of the Republican party have been criticizing the work as insulting to the office of the President. Personally, I think it’s a well executed portrait by Yeo. The content and the cool “naturalist” tones have be read with a sense-of humor…