Paul Rousso

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About the artwork

Paul Rousso's "Asian Cash I" is a mesmerizing spherical sculpture that transforms a collage of international Asian currencies into a tangible form. Utilizing his innovative thermoforming technique, Rousso captures the intricate details and vibrant colors of banknotes from various nations, meticulously molding them into a harmonious, circular composition. Currencies like the Korean Won and Singapore Dollar are visibly woven into the piece, creating a rich tapestry of global commerce and cultural exchange. This artwork challenges the transient nature of money, elevating it from a mere medium of transaction to a permanent object of contemplation. "Asian Cash I" invites viewers to appreciate the aesthetic beauty found in everyday economic symbols while reflecting on the interconnectedness of world economies.

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.