Paul Rousso

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About the artwork

"5K Yankee" by Paul Rousso is a captivating artwork that showcases a monumental USD 5000 bill featuring James Madison. Through this larger-than-life representation, Rousso invites contemplation on the historical significance of paper currency. The artwork highlights the evolution of money, particularly the relevance of larger denomination bills that have been discontinued over time. It serves as a poignant reflection on the diminishing role of paper currency in our digital age. Rousso's creation prompts viewers to reflect on the changing landscape of financial transactions and the gradual shift away from physical money towards digital forms of payment.

About the artist

American artist Paul Rousso transforms the fleeting into the monumental. Renowned for his hyperreal, oversized sculptures of crumpled currency, candy wrappers, newspapers, and glossy magazine pages, Rousso interrogates our relationship with media, materialism, and memory. His works playfully immortalize what is typically tossed aside—objects meant to be consumed and forgotten—elevating them into timeless icons of contemporary culture. Rousso’s practice draws from a diverse background in scenic design, digital manipulation, and commercial art direction, all of which converge in his meticulously crafted sculptures.

Through a proprietary process of heat infusion on plexiglass and other materials, he sculpts paper-thin forms that mimic real-life textures with startling accuracy. The result is artwork that is both technically impressive and conceptually resonant—wrinkled banknotes and discarded ads become touchpoints for nostalgia, identity, and cultural commentary. Influenced by Pop Art masters like Lichtenstein and Warhol, as well as the fantastical stylings of Dr. Seuss, Rousso infuses his work with wit, color, and scale. But beneath the playful surface lies a quiet urgency: a meditation on the impermanence of media in a world where physical print is vanishing.

By preserving these ephemeral artifacts in larger-than-life form, he invites viewers to pause, reflect, and consider what we value—and what we throw away.