Robert Russell (b. 1971) lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He received his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Russell’s paintings transform ordinary, often mass-produced objects—cups, books, porcelain, and candles—into vessels of memory and ritual. Guided by an enduring interest in the sanctification of time and the possibility of making holy the ordinary, his work examines how attention itself can transfigure the everyday into the sacred.

Recent series such as Porzellan Manufaktur Allach, Stateless Objects, and Yahrzeit Candles extend his exploration of beauty, loss, and survival. In these newest works, the store bought memorial candle, a product of industrial manufacture, becomes an icon of mourning and endurance, revealing how even the most commodified forms can bear sanctity through ritual and attention.

Russell’s work has been exhibited at Anat Ebgi Gallery, Miles McEnery Gallery, The Cabin LA, LA><ART, François Ghebaly Gallery, Osmos (New York), and the Burrard Arts Foundation (Vancouver, BC), among others.