Dennis Hopper - Artist, Actor, Collector - Dies at 74

Andy Warhol
Portrait of Dennis Hopper
silkscreen on canvas 1971

“The American art world often likes to put artists into boxes. You’re an artist, not a filmmaker. You’re a photographer, not a painter. But Dennis shows you can blur those boundaries, which is very current and exciting.”
-Jeffrey Deitch

Dennis Hopper has died at 74 just weeks before an exhibit of his work will open at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Over the years Hopper has created paintings and photographs along with his films. His photographs are noteworthy because of his unique access to his portrait subjects such as Andy Warhol and because of his romantic, brooding aesthetic.


Dennis Hopper
Double Standard
silver gelatin print 1961

Jori Finkel in the Los Angeles Times noted that " most big museum exhibitions take years to organize, but new director Jeffrey Deitch had the idea for this show just a couple of months ago when visiting Julian Schnabel, a longtime friend of Hopper."

“We’re rushing this exhibition because Dennis Hopper is ailing,” Deitch says, “and I wanted him to be able to participate in the selection of works. He saw the space with us last week.”

Dennis Hopper's exhibit Double Standard opens at MOCA on July 11, 2010:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles



Dennis Hopper Discusses His Art Collection

A poignant piece on Dennis Hopper by Richard Stayton in the Los Angeles Times:
An uneasy ride with Dennis Hopper
A wonderful interview with Hopper from the November 2008 issue of Venice Magazine:
Dennis Hopper: The Hollywood Interview


Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild plays over the opening scene of Dennis Hopper's film Easy Rider


Dennis Hopper and Portrait of Dennis Hopper by Julian Schnabel