Michael Borremans

Michael Borremans' figurative drawings and paintings elicit a range of reactions and can be darkly humorous, grotesque and nostalgic all at once. Borremans’ work is heavily influenced by the outputs of such artists as Diego Velazquez and Edouard Manet; his depictions of somber-looking figures give rise to curious narratives and unsettling life-stills against a theatrical staging – Mercy and Becky are just two of the many examples of this jarring, evocative work. Borremans was initially focused on photography in his early career, and has since returned to his own photography as an inspiration and a basis for his paintings, stating: "A filmed image has another quality—you use lenses, you use lights... I’m interested in cinematic esthetics, like going in and out of focus." (Artist website)