Hyperrealism

"What links these artists is first of all a hyperrealism of its individuals, a critique of society, a 'social determinism,' a window to reflect on our own inhabitance of the world," describes curator Hervé Mikaeloff, on the selection of this year's theme "Portrait and Figuration. A look at the French scene" at the Art Paris Art Fair. He has chosen to include various hyperrealist artists, including Pei-Ming Yan, Laurent Grasso, Dorian Cohen and Marc Desgrandchamps.

In the history of art, the 20th century is shaped by a succession of artistic trends. What do they all have in common? The race to abstraction. From Picasso's cubism to Pollock's abstract expressionism, through Duchamp's art brut, conceptual or minimalist art, all schools seek to emancipate themselves from the centuries of painting behind them where commitment to accurately portraying the subject took precedence over the creative process. 

In 1973, hyperrealism appeared. It was a revival of figurative art. Seen alternately as a breaking away from, or on the contrary by some as an extension of pop art and the pictorial technique of its precursors Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, hyperrealism corresponds to the ultra-realistic representation of a person, an object, a landscape... No kind of subject is favored as each artist has their own trademark style.

The term hyperrealism, even though it developed mainly in the United States, comes from the French. The Belgian art dealer Isy Brachot was the first to use it in 1973 as the title of an exhibition in his Brussels gallery. He exhibited influential American and European photorealists (realist photographers), including Chuck Close (who specialized in enlarged identity photographs), Ralph Goings (in automobiles), Richter and Delcol...

From that moment on, "hyperrealists" came to mean all the painters and sculptors influenced by the photorealists. However, unlike the latter, who show absolute objectivity towards the model they capture, hyperrealist painters omit or add details that allow a better overall reading of the subject, one that is "truer" than the visible reality. Unlike photography, the contemporary hyperrealist painting plays on the narrative, the emotions of the viewer. It takes a stand on social, cultural and political themes.

Discover all aspects of hyperrealism in this selection of unique artworks: paintings by Richard Harper, sculptures by Charlotte Champion and much more...