Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the ‘Retro Glamour Girls in Out Space’. Their mission? To explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go where no woman has gone before. So, grab you hairspray, apply your finest red lipstick and get ready to launch into space in campy, futuristic style as you explore Victor Gadino’s latest series of retro paintings.
The New York born and bred Victor Gadino is an award-winning artist and illustrator known for his figurative oil paintings and pencil drawings that explore themes of mythology, sex, religion, transition and camp through a fresh and imaginative lens. In his latest painting series ‘Retro Glamour Girls in Outer Space’, Victor explores camp 1950s movies, beauty contests and old Hollywood glamour. Initially inspired by the cult classic film ‘The Queen from Outer Space’ starring Zsa Zsa Gabor, Victor places retro looking women into futuristic fantasy settings to create a sense of nostalgia for a non-existent time period. Continue reading to learn more about this series in this exclusive interview in partnership with PoetsArtists.
Watch out for a 1930s Marlene Dietrich or a young Ginger Rogers floating around the cosmos soon!
Interview with Victor Gadino
‘The Queen from Outer Space’ was the main catalyst for creating this series. Can you tell us more about what sparked inspiration from this film? Were there specific scenes that resonated with you or was it the overall vibe and aesthetic of the film that inspired you?
In most of my art I like to combine aesthetics from different decades and eras to create a new visual mashup. Nostalgia is very interesting to me. It’s a comfort and important coping mechanism in difficult times – like now. Also, I love to look back and see what people thought the future would look like.
I knew of the 1958 movie ‘The Queen From Outer Space’ but never watch the entire thing until recently. It appears that in 1958 the people of 1985 would be rocketing through space to Venus in a spaceship made of cardboard and Christmas lights, only to find Venus inhabited solely by glamourous showgirls in scanty corseted costumes and heels. What a hoot, it’s so campy. And Zsa Zsa Gabor in gold lame or chiffon gowns…well I just had to make some art from all these wild images swirling around in my head.
Alongside campy retro films and beauty contest queens, were there any artists that you looked to for inspiration when painting this series?
Artists from the 1940s and 50s like John Witcombe and pin up artists Gil Elvgren have had influence on my work. Their style is the perfect combo of realism and fantasy.
‘Space Cadet Betty’ has a little nod to Star Trek with the original Starfleet Insignia included on her uniform. Has Star Trek inspired any aspects of Retro Glamour Girls in Outer Space?
I like to include elements that people will recognise and be able to place in time. But then I will throw in elements that don’t belong to that era for fun. There can be a Star Trek insignia, but it’s worn by a Betty Page lookalike from the 1950s.
I always feel a perplexing sense of nostalgia when viewing retro futuristic artwork, it’s foreign and familiar all at once. What kinds of feelings does this genre of art stir within you?
I want people to feel perplexed, because my intension is to look back in time and learn from past mistakes, not go back and repeat them. That is why in my newest painting ‘Captain Dale Arden’ Dale is not the damsel in distress waiting for Flash Gordon to save her. Instead, she is the Captain of his spaceship. I like to think of it as Glamour Girl Power!
Are the retro ladies in these paintings based off of specific people or characters? Or are they from your imagination?
My Glam squad is made up from a combination of real people and my imagination of what they should look like.
Your painting ‘COVID 2033’ really stands out to me within this series. It feels quite serious in its tonality especially with its title and the retro futuristic gas mask the women wears. Is this painting alluding to a possible future we may face?
For sure ‘COVID 2033’ was a reaction to when covid started up for the second time and we all realised it was not going away. It was a dark look into the future and it’s issues like disease and global warming. I guess I was a little depressed at the time.
Do you have a favourite piece from this series? If so, which one and why does it resonate with you?
My favorite piece is usually the last one I finished painting. Not that I’m ever totally satisfied with any of my paintings. I always think they could have been better. It’s annoying but it keeps me fresh.
Nostalgia is very interesting to me. It’s a comfort and important coping mechanism in difficult times – like now. Also, I love to look back and see what people thought the future would look like.
Do you have any campy cult classic movie recommendations for those of us looking for some more retro sci-fi content to sink our teeth into?
Camp is always fun! I would recommend watching Barbarella, She (Who Must Be Obeyed), Project Moonbase, Catwomen of the Moon…or any of the other crazy films from the 1950s.
Do you think you will continue to expand on the Retro Glamour Girls series?
I definitely will be continuing with my Glamour Girls in Outer Space series. Watch out for a 1930s Marlene Dietrich or a young Ginger Rogers floating around the cosmos soon!
Victor Gadino is represented by 33 Contemporary Gallery and partnered with online art collective PoetsArtists. For more info on these paintings including pricing please visit Artsy.
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