Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Vibrant Pastel Portraits by Barnaby Whitfield

Barnaby Whitfield's portraits are rendered with acidic shades of chalk pastel as if illuminated by a strange, disorienting light source. His characters' pallid skin glows with an almost fluorescent shade of white and the wrinkles, bruises, and redness on their faces is especially accentuated. Their vulnerability manifests in the form of physical scars.

Barnaby Whitfield’s portraits are rendered with acidic shades of chalk pastel as if illuminated by a strange, disorienting light source. His characters’ pallid skin glows with an almost fluorescent shade of white and the wrinkles, bruises, and redness on their faces is especially accentuated. Their vulnerability manifests in the form of physical scars.

Whitfield’s men and women appear emotionally exhausted and sometimes even tearful — a detail that doesn’t become readily apparent amid his festive use of neon colors. His bright drawings weave emotion into their surreal, visual splendor. Whitfield’s work will be on view at Gallery Poulsen’s booth at PULSE Contemporary Art Fair this week (December 4-7) in Miami. Stay tuned for coverage of Art Basel week festivities in the coming days.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Artist John Mahoney crafts strange, futuristic illustrations that are marked by absorbing detail and shifting perspectives. He’s also had a hand in products from Lucasfilm, Disney, Blizzard, Hasbro Cartoon Network, and Miramax in various roles under visual development and conceptual art. Yet, perhaps his most personal project is "Zentropa," a graphic novel “30 years in the making” that features no word bubbles and serves as a stream-of-conscious, unpredictable narrative.
The way we express ourselves intimately with our partners in real life seldom resembles the glamorous heaving and sighing of movie sex scenes. Italian artist Riccardo Mannelli eschews these cinematic cliches when he conveys personal moments between couples. In his ongoing series of works on paper, Mannelli's approach to erotica feels natural and unpretentious. The bodies he focuses on are not idealized by any means: He honestly depicts his subjects' aging physiques, tattoos, and body hair. By embracing these so-called imperfections, Mannelli celebrates their beauty.
Philadelphia-born artist Lisa Yuskavage has become known for her fantasized images of women in stages of undress, and not without controversy. Scantily clad, her subjects' sexuality plays an important role in her art where men have largely been ignored. In her new series of paintings and pastels, currently on view at David Zwirner Gallery in New York alongside Yayoi Kusama (covered here), Yuskavage finally tackles the opposite sex. Called "Hippies," her male and female cast is only loosely inspired by the free-spirited sub-culture. Yuskavage's also possess an otherworldly feel with seductive and religious undertones.
Alejandro Pasquale uses charcoal and graphite to create images with photographic accuracy. From top to bottom, each picture is flush with elaborate detail. Pasquale brings to life seemingly banal background elements, like blades of grass and tree branches, which he makes look luscious and vivid.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List