Artist Spotlight: Ross Muir

This week we take a look at the witty and captivating works of Scottish artist Ross Muir.

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you - Vincent van Gogh is indeed wearing an adidas tracksuit. At least he is in Ross Muir’s humorous works that draw from some of the most well-known paintings in art history.

Born in 1981, Ross Muir grew up in Alexandria in the Vale of Leven, Scotland before moving to Glasgow in 2009. Without any formal training, he began his artistic journey at the age of 30 after receiving a small set of paints as a gift.

Since then, Muir has gained acclaim for his meticulous attention to detail and hyperrealistic style, cleverly infusing art historical references with a contemporary and personal touch to render them relevant to today’s society. In a reworking of Van Gogh’s The Bedroom, Muir depicts an adidas jacket hanging on the wall, Sambas strewn on the floor, and an iPhone charging by the bed. In another work, Frida Kahlo sports a Fred Perry polo shirt, gazing defiantly at the viewer as if challenging them to say something.

During the first national lockdown, Muir’s posters featuring his signature Vincent van Gogh portrait with the phrase Jist Gogh Hame gained widespread attention across Glasgow. The clever and timely message resonated globally through social media, with the official Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam even sharing Muir’s artwork to announce their temporary closure in 2020. It’s this very relatability, humour, and sincerity that make Muir’s work resonate so deeply with audiences.

Ross Muir: “Art has become my Mother, my Father & my closest companion.”