Hyperrealism

During the late 1950s and early 1960s in New York City, Abstract Expressionism, Pop art and Minimalism dominated the art scene. Hyperrealism was heavily shrouded by the impact of these movements, causing it to take ten years before the movement gained an official form of recognition. The movement began in 1965, at the same time as Conceptual Art, and consisted entirely of male artists (Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Robert Bechtle, Denis Peterson, and Malcolm Morley), apart from one female artist, Audrey Flack. Notably, the male artists' works were ripe with themes of machinery and industry, incorporating cars and mechanical objects in their works. Flack on the other hand, conveyed more emotion in her works, exploring themes of death, femininity, mass-culture and consumerism in her pieces.


“Hyperrealism" derives from the French “Hyperréalisme," a term coined by Belgian gallerist, Isy Brachot, as the name for his exhibition in 1973. The exhibition included major American Hyperrealists such as Chuck Close, Ralph Goings and Robert Bechtle. Artists would often rely on tracing their works from photographs to create an intensely accurate replica. The Hyperrealists took realism one step further by mixing the real with the unreal. Although their images were based on reality, in creating their works from photographs they actually distanced their art from fact. This is because the Hyperrealists would strive to achieve such a realistic effect in their work, they would add elements to their pieces that were absent from the original photo. This allowed the artists to render their works even more realistic by adding details unseen in the original photo.  


The reliance on photography caused Hyperrealists to explore the realms of reality and artificiality, and examine alternative artistic methods. The representation of light was particularly distinctive in these works. Hyperrealists would use slide machines to project photos onto their canvases, allowing them to capture light in a completely new way and reproduce the glossy effect of a photograph in their paintings. 


Chuck Close: one of the original Hyperrealists, Close is renowned for his huge-scale portraits. A catastrophic spinal artery collapse in 1988 left Close paralyzed, however he has still continued to paint. In 2005, his work John sold at Sotheby's to the Broad Art Foundation for $4.8 million.


Malcolm A. Morley: British-American artist and painter, Morley was one of the pioneers of Hyperrealism. 


Richard Estes: American painter, Estes, would frequently divide his paintings in two, channelling two windows in his works. This would give the effect of looking at two paintings at the same time, and such an effect can be seen in his work Murano Glass, Venice (1976).


Ralph Goings: predominantly painted scenes of everyday American life, Goings sought to portray the realities of the Great Depression in America. His depictions of working class Americans can be seen in his work, Two Waitresses - Afternoon Break.


Audrey Flack: the sole woman of the original Hyperrealists, Flack mostly explored still lifes in her works. Her still life paintings questioned themes of Vanitas, using religious symbols on large-scale canvases.  


Get back to reality with our selection of contemporary artists! Whether it's Juliana Wildner's flowers, Mark Figuras' figures or Kyliss' black and white portraits, Artsper has the Hyperrealist work for you
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Painting, Elévation, Maude Ovize

Elévation

Maude Ovize

Painting - 195 x 130 x 3 cm Painting - 76.8 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch

$3,468

Sculpture, Partir, Deville-Chabrolle

Partir

Deville-Chabrolle

Sculpture - 24 x 30 x 24 cm Sculpture - 9.4 x 11.8 x 9.4 inch

$13,293

Painting, Couple, Eloy Morales

Couple

Eloy Morales

Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch

$1,965

Painting, Nessi, Anatoly Varvarov

Nessi

Anatoly Varvarov

Painting - 120 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$1,214

Sculpture, Siam, Deville-Chabrolle

Siam

Deville-Chabrolle

Sculpture - 71 x 17 x 15 cm Sculpture - 28 x 6.7 x 5.9 inch

$18,494

Painting, Roses, Roman Rembovsky

Roses

Roman Rembovsky

Painting - 39.9 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch

$2,239

Painting, Nude I, Valeri Tsvetkov

Nude I

Valeri Tsvetkov

Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

$3,005 $2,705

Painting, Nude, Simona Tsvetkova

Nude

Simona Tsvetkova

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$1,098

Painting, Ulysse, Nicolas Curmer

Ulysse

Nicolas Curmer

Painting - 185 x 250 x 5 cm Painting - 72.8 x 98.4 x 2 inch

$6,935

Painting, Nude II, Valeri Tsvetkov

Nude II

Valeri Tsvetkov

Painting - 60 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$3,294

Fine Art Drawings, In Bloom, Sayeed Momoh

In Bloom

Sayeed Momoh

Fine Art Drawings - 124.5 x 104.1 x 2.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 49 x 41 x 1 inch

$4,000

Painting, Studio, Roman Rembovsky

Studio

Roman Rembovsky

Painting - 175 x 145 x 2 cm Painting - 68.9 x 57.1 x 0.8 inch

$12,200

Painting, Anaïs, Louis Treserras

Anaïs

Louis Treserras

Painting - 60 x 120 x 5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 47.2 x 2 inch

$7,398

Fine Art Drawings, L’échange, Karim Benchebra

L’échange

Karim Benchebra

Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

$3,132

Painting, Illumination, Yigit Dundar

Illumination

Yigit Dundar

Painting - 80 x 150 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch

$2,500

Painting, Awakening, Yigit Dundar

Awakening

Yigit Dundar

Painting - 110 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 43.3 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$2,500

Painting, Dhyana, Yigit Dundar

Dhyana

Yigit Dundar

Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$1,000

Painting, Samadhi, Yigit Dundar

Samadhi

Yigit Dundar

Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$1,000

Painting, Susy, Pascal Chôve

Susy

Pascal Chôve

Painting - 116 x 89 x 6 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 2.4 inch

$14,448

Painting, Crisis, Carmen Cañadas

Crisis

Carmen Cañadas

Painting - 33.5 x 18.5 cm Painting - 13.2 x 7.3 inch

$1,451

Painting, Charm of red, Yigit Dundar

Charm of red

Yigit Dundar

Painting - 145 x 145 x 3 cm Painting - 57.1 x 57.1 x 1.2 inch

$4,000

Painting, Nueva Era, Carmen Cañadas

Nueva Era

Carmen Cañadas

Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$4,046

Painting, Reflejos, Carmen Cañadas

Reflejos

Carmen Cañadas

Painting - 50 x 180 x 2.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 70.9 x 1 inch

$8,091

Painting, Cloudnine, Philippe Huart

Cloudnine

Philippe Huart

Painting - 32 x 92 x 4 cm Painting - 12.6 x 36.2 x 1.6 inch

Price upon request

Painting, Connected, Ahmed Art

Connected

Ahmed Art

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

Sold

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