Instagram Sensation Ashley Longshore’s Art Sells Like Birkin Bags

Ms. Longshore isn't mocking the American dream— she's trying to make sense of it

Featured on observer.com

Ashley Longshore is a New Orleans-based artist who’s famous for her quirky, colorful pop art takes on celebrity culture (she’s been compared to Andy Warhol), which she sells for $30,000 a piece, using Instagram as her art dealer. Anna Wintour and Kate Moss are often heavily featured, alongside designers like Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. It’s a look into the closets, as well as the minds of fashion obsessed Americans. Celebrity collectors include Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek and Blake Lively, who she’s given art lessons. Her art is ideal for fashion girls everywhere, from the South to the city.

During a recent lunch at the Crosby Hotel, the artist sat with her husband, a photographer, at a table across from Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, while indulging in dessert for lunch. She wore an enviable Fendi jacket and Chanel pearls, for a look that was almost as colorful as her personality. “We are what we wear. This is my armor. I don’t have on a T-shirt, I don’t have a ring in my nose, I don’t look punk. We define ourselves through our fashion. What are you going to put on?” asks Ms. Longshore.

On an Instagram feed that features her pop art alongside cultural commentary, she sometimes faces controversy, especially with the “Holy Fuck” series. “[It’s] an exploration in religion, women having to cover themselves, women having to hide their hair and their bodies,” she explained. “Kate Moss has on a nun habit and is still gorgeous. You can’t hide that, you can’t hide that sexuality and beauty that she has. We have all these desires inside of us and Kate Moss, for me, just projects one of them.”

There’s also her series of Audrey Hepburn paintings, the opposite of Kate Moss and her wild child ways. Ms. Longshore says, “She is so elegant. So beautiful, so philanthropic, such a lady, that neck, that profile…I want that.”

Click here to read the full article.