In a world fractured by the war machines of capitalism and exploitation, it is all-too-easy to feel distant from the stories of violence that pervade our media and political histories. However, as the renowned artist Gottfried Helnwein has shown in his courageous and provocative work, it is extremely difficult to ignore the suffering of a […]
Category: Hyperreal
Modern Anxieties: Grotesque, Hyperrealistic Paintings by Beau White
Australian artist Beau White paints surreal, hyperrealistic images that take a magnifying glass to human fallacies and anxieties. Among his absurd and grotesque imagery are large parasitic worms that feast on people and pomegranates—the latter of which, when split open, resemble an eviscerated body, playing with our discomforts surrounding death and decay. The fetal “Chickenpig” […]
Grotesque, Beautiful Life: Sculptures by Russel Cameron
Note: Contains images that may be considered graphic and disturbing to some readers. Russel Cameron is an American, self-taught artist from Brooklyn, New York, who creates sculptures that are grotesque and profound in their representations of life. With skin-like textures and shapes similar to human body parts, each creation looks deformed and unsettling, devoid of […]
Desire and Debris: Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings by Till Rabus
Note: Contains nudity. Till Rabus is a Swiss artist who paints hyperrealistic mash-ups of sex, food, mythology, and absurdity. Recalling the tradition of Dutch vanitas, Rabus’ still lifes contain an ominous hodge-podge of items; sex toys sit with false dignity beside garbage and raw meat, awaiting the flies. This surrealism carries over into his scenic […]
Eyes Wide Open: The Detailed Pencil Drawings of Flavio Apel
His greatest passion, drawing, started as a hobby. Flavio Apel, born in Italy and also half German, is currently one of the artists permanently displayed at the Gallery Rasch in the palace and park-filled city of Kassel in Germany. His hyperrealistic eye drawings have captured the attention of offline and online viewers, as they are […]
Hyperrealist Tattoos with an Italian Flair: Interview with Silvano Fiato
Inspired by classical Italian art and music, Silvano Fiato channels centuries of history into his hyperrealistic tattoos. His Eternal Tattoo Studio in Genoa evokes a Renaissance salon, combining a lofty cultural air with the raw mechanical inking of skin. An artist from a young age, Fiato attended an art institute to hone his skills. Early […]
Gerard Schlosser’s Intimate, Hyperrealistic Paintings of the Body
Note: Contains nudity. Gerard Schlosser is a French artist who paints hyperrealistic images of body parts. He takes photographs and then isolates a part of the scene, such as an exposed breast or waist. Each painterly fragment is mysterious, and Schlosser has a way of instilling intimacy into surprising places. What is left outside the […]
Dragan Ilic Di Vogo’s Symbolic, Hallucinatory Worlds
Note: Contains nudity. Dragan Ilic Di Vogo is a Belgrade-based painter who combines fantasy imagery with surrealism in passionate, dreamlike sequences. His deserts—inhabited by warrior women, stone angels, and floating objects—are reminiscent of the bizarre, symbolic landscapes of Salvador Dalí. With an ancient poeticism, Di Vogo’s works explore the edges of consciousness by dissolving the […]
Photorealistic Still Life with Something “Wrong”
Artist Tatsuya Erikawa carefully constructs realities through painstakingly-rendered drawings. Created in a photorealistic style, they depict still lifes with objects arranged slightly askew. A tiny skeleton takes a bath in festively-decorated glass, while army men set a curious mouse trap. Erikawa’s awe-inspiring technical abilities are highlighted by the strange situations, and their realism makes them […]
Kazuhiro Tsuji’s Realistic Sculptures of Famous Artists and a U.S. President
Based in LA, Kazuhiro Tsuji (from Japan) has made a name for himself in Hollywood, working as a special effects makeup artist for 25 years. Just to name a few things he’s done: the aging makeup on Nicole Kidman for her role in “Hemingway & Gellhorn” and subtly transforming Joseph Gordon Levitt into a younger […]