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Ronnie Cutrone

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Ronnie Cutron

Ronnie Cutrone (July 10, 1948 – July 20, 2013) was an American Neo-pop painter and nightclub impresario. He began his career as Pop Artist Andy Warhol's assistant[1] before becoming known for his own paintings of cartoon characters. He was a performer with Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable that also featured The Velvet Underground.[2] Cutrone also helped run the New York City nightclub Mudd Club and later operated his own short term bar/dance club/cabaret space/tapas lounge nightclub called The Rubber Monkey at 279 Church Street in TriBeCa. His memories play a part in the history of punk rock book Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

Life and career

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Ronald "Ronnie" Cutrone was born in New York City on July 10, 1948. He attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.[3]

As a teenager, Cutrone hung around pop artist Andy Warhol's Factory. He became a go-go dancer and among his first gigs was at the Dom Club on St. Marks Place in Manhattan's East Village.[4] He also performed with the Velvet Underground.[3] Cutrone was Warhol's studio assistant at the Factory from 1972 until 1982.[5] He said Warhol was "a second father to me."[6] He worked with Warhol on paintings, prints, films, and other concepts, co-opting Warhol's earliest work (pre-1960) as well as works by Roy Lichtenstein and others, until finally distilling those myriad influences into the style a few critics eventually labeled "Post-Pop."[7] Cutrone's paintings are colorful and lively depictions of American cartoon characters such as Felix the Cat, Tweety Bird and Sylvester, Woody Woodpecker, the Pink Panther, and the Smurfs.[5][8]

He exhibited at the Niveau Gallery in 1979 with a Scottish artist called Mike Gall who showed paintings of Snoopy, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the Pink Panther and also a small series of Peter Rabbit paintings. Victor Hugo was the other artist who was featured in this group show which was called "Three New New York Artists."[citation needed]

Cutrone's works have been exhibited at: Whitney Museum (New York), Museum of Modern Art (New York), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and fine art galleries internationally.[9]

1979, he built a human-sized steel cage that was positioned in the middle of the Mudd Club in TriBeCa.[10] He also helped the club's co-founder Steve Maas book talent at the club.[11] He later built Club 82, where the New York Dolls and Blondie performed.[12] In 2000, Cutrone opened the Rubber Monkey, a nightclub in TriBeCa.[12][13]

Personal life

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Cutrone was married four times. His first two marriages to makeup artist Gigi Williams ended in divorce.[14] In 1986, he married Kelly Cutrone, but they later divorced.[3] His third wife was an Israeli woman, Einat Katav, and that marriage also ended in divorce.[3]

Cutrone dated writer Tama Janowitz in the 1980s.[4] Their relationship ended when Cutrone reconciled with his first wife Gigi Williams in 1985.[15] The characters Eleanor and Stash in Janowitz's novel-in-stories Slaves of New York (1986) are based on Janowitz and Cutrone.[16]

Death

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Cutrone died at his home in Lake Peekskill, New York on July 20, 2013.[3] In December 2013, Hiram Noel Mendez of Cortlandt was charged with second-degree burglary and other offenses for stealing artwork from Cutrone's home.[17][18] Reportedly, during a visit to Cutrone's home, Mendez found him unresponsive and took some of his artwork before notifying authorities hours later.[17] Cutrone's associates noticed some artworks missing and notified the police.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Steven Watson, Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties (2003) Pantheon, New York, p. 259
  2. ^ Steven Watson, Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties (2003) Pantheon, New York, p. 259
  3. ^ a b c d e Fox, Margalit (2013-07-26). "Ronnie Cutrone, a Warhol Assistant, Dies at 65". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  4. ^ a b Trebay, Guy (2013-08-02). "Ronnie Cutrone, a Man of Another, Cooler City". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  5. ^ a b Greenfield-Sanders, Timothy (22 July 2013). "Ronnie Cutrone, RIP". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  6. ^ Michelini, Alex (1987-02-26). "Andy framed it legal". Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  7. ^ Haden-Guest, Anthony (2018-11-14). "Sphinx and Superstar: What It Was Like to Know the Real Andy Warhol". Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  8. ^ Larson, Kay (April 1, 1985). "Garbage Chic". New York Magazine: 77.
  9. ^ "Tataboo", Exhibition Catalogue Lorenzelli Arte Milano, 2003
  10. ^ "A Historical Look at The Mudd Club". CR Fashion Book. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  11. ^ Keaton, Gary (June 21, 1979). "Here's Mudd in Your Sleaze". The Washington Post.
  12. ^ a b Hass, Nancy (2000-12-17). "A NIGHT OUT WITH: Ronnie Cutrone; Another New Thing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  13. ^ "In the News: Condo vs. Dog Owner". Tribeca Citizen. July 27, 2013. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  14. ^ "Kelly Cutrone Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements".
  15. ^ Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. New York: Warner Books. p. 668. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2Entry date: August 8, 1985{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  16. ^ Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol diaries. New York: Warner Books. p. 685. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2Entry date: October 15, 1985{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  17. ^ a b c Corcoran, Terence (December 12, 2013). "Case continued in theft from Warhol assistant". The Journal News. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  18. ^ "New York Man Stole Works From Warhol's Assistant After He Died: Police". NBC New York. 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
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