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Marco Grassi’s Portraits Put Hyperrealism Slightly Off Balance

Italian artist Marco Grassi applies his hyperrealist painting chops to portraits that are slightly unconventional. While he paints mostly young, beautiful female subjects in traditional studio settings, his work becomes remarkable for the surreal accoutrements with which he adorns his characters. In one piece, a model's back becomes porous with a carved, baroque design — her body hollow like a doll's. In other paintings, he experiments with colorful body paint, tattoos, fabrics, and even a translucent, shield-like piece of futuristic jewelry. Throughout his portrait series, Grassi uses his skills with oils to create convincing illusions that make it easy for viewers to suspend disbelief.

Italian artist Marco Grassi applies his hyperrealist painting chops to portraits that are slightly unconventional. While he paints mostly young, beautiful female subjects in traditional studio settings, his work becomes remarkable for the surreal accoutrements with which he adorns his characters. In one piece, a model’s back becomes porous with a carved, baroque design — her body hollow like a doll’s. In other paintings, he experiments with colorful body paint, tattoos, fabrics, and even a translucent, shield-like piece of futuristic jewelry. Throughout his portrait series, Grassi uses his skills with oils to create convincing illusions that make it easy for viewers to suspend disbelief.

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Topics

hyperrealism, Marco Grassi, painting, Portraiture

good knight, greg "craola" simkins, merry karnowsky gallery, painting

May 15, 2014

Filled with rich, saturated colors, Greg "Craola" Simkins's paintings present playful scenarios inspired by the natural world. Regal-looking birds, foxes and even hammer head shark enact allegorical dramas. The paintings play out like Shakespearean comedies: A sense of whimsical humor pervades the work, yet the characters' elaborate costuming suggests that these are no ordinary creatures we are observing. The anthropomorphized animals appear to belong to an old world social order. One can't help but attempt to deduce a commentary on the ways that power plays out our own society, but perhaps staring at the masterfully-painted feathers and fins is enough. Fittingly, Craola's upcoming show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery in LA, opening May 17, is titled "Good Knight." Take a look out our sneak peek of the show below, photos courtesy of Carlos Gonzalez aka Theonepointeight.

Antoine Cordet’s Eerie, Mixed-Media Portraits

Antoine Cordet, Mixed Media, painting

February 26, 2018

French artist Antoine Cordet’s ghostly acrylic and oil paintings appear as portraits that have been tampered with, whether out of disdain or abstractions arising from memory. Despite the seemingly despondent expressions of its subjects, the paintings are given an unexpected energy from these touches. Adding to the mystique is the attire of the youth in the images, which ranges from contemporary to vague costumes. The artist was last featured on HiFructose.com here.

Paul Reid Revives Greek Mythology in Paintings

Greek mythology, painting, Paul Reid

September 15, 2018

The figurative works of Paul Reid revive the world of ancient Greek mythology, yet render new scenes through the artist's contemporary vantage point. Though Reid's education and understanding of form owes much to the masters of yesterday, his own cinematic style comes through in each of these scenes, feeling at once elegant and casual.

Beata Chrzanowska’s Sensual Paintings Combine Figuration and Abstraction

Beata Chrzanowska, painting

February 11, 2015

Beata Chrzanowska illustrates the intoxicating feeling of a first kiss with her mixed-media paintings. Inspired by Art Deco, she frames her subjects' faces in geometric patterns with bold color schemes. Within each piece, her imagery oscillates between flat and voluminous, calculated and spontaneous, and the narrative storyline gets lost in the decorative motifs that dominate her work. Originally from Poland, Chrzanowska was raised in Chicago and is currently based in New York. In addition to her paintings, she has a portfolio of collages that share a similar interplay between figurative and abstract. Take a look at some of her recent paintings below.

Marco Grassi’s Portraits Put Hyperrealism Slightly Off Balance

Preview: Greg “Craola” Simkins’s “Good Knight” at Merry Karnowsky Gallery

Antoine Cordet’s Eerie, Mixed-Media Portraits

Paul Reid Revives Greek Mythology in Paintings

Beata Chrzanowska’s Sensual Paintings Combine Figuration and Abstraction

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