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Hyperrealism

196 artworks, 43 artists
Hyperrealism is a genre in painting and sculpture that continued the tradition of photorealism, though in a slightly different way. Photorealism assumed an exact adherence to the photographic model, whereas the artists of the new direction used photography only as a source of their inspiration. The array of the subjects of hyperrealist paintings can be very diverse — from a portrait or still life to a fantastic landscape. Hyperrealism artists use the realistic principle of imaging as close as possible to what the human eye sees, but they do not seek to copy reality accurately.

The first exhibition hosting hyperrealist paintings was the exposition of the same name in the Brachot Gallery (Brussels, 1973). Photorealism has moved to a new stage of development. The hyperrealist painting gave both the artist and the viewer more opportunities to search for new stories and meanings. The artist was still required to have an outstanding mastery of the drawing and painting art, which was traditional for academicists. In the paintings by hyperrealists, human emotions, narration, materiality appeared.

Artists work out their works carefully, achieving a reality that is unattainable for the photographer’s eye. Painting in the hyperrealist style impresses with its elaboration of textures, surfaces, effects of light and shadow, which often look sharper than the actual depicted object. The painting technique involves achieving the smoothest possible surface, which is why the artists often use airbrush, acrylic and oil paints in their work. The sculptures in the style of hyperrealism are striking in their authenticity, texture, and the attention to the smallest detail.

Famous hyperrealist artists:
Ralph Goings, Denis Peterson, Gottfried Helnwein, Chuck Close, Bert Monroy, Robert Bechtle, Audrey Flack, John de Andrea, Duane Hanson, Antonio Lopez, Claudio Bravo, Enrique Sobisch, Gerhard Richter, Truls Espedal, Rafaella Spence, Masha Shubina, Sergey Bazilev, Alexey Tegin, Semyon Fajbisowitsch, Sergey Piskunov, Paul Cadden, Gregory Thielker, Alyssa Monks, Samuel Silva.
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