El hiperrealismo siempre ha tenido, a pesar de sus detractores, cierto halo poético compensatorio. La objetividad retratada no es más que el camuflaje de una realidad observada con la vertiente de un ojo minucioso que aspira a la contemplación particular del mundo (urbano, por ejemplo Richard Estes). Alyssa Monk, una pintora de Nueva York que, sin eludir su deuda con la tradición hiperrealista norteamericana, aporta a sus obras una perspectiva participativa. Disecciona los reflejos de una cortina goteada (y aquí vuelve a aparecer Richard Estes) para inmiscuirse en los derroteros interiores de un personaje en primer plano.

Alyssa Monk · Scene iz kupatila

Autor: Senka Mušić  //  13/12/2010  //  Creative arts, VISUAL ART  //  Nema komentara

Tražeći dokaze da su djela ove slikarke zapravo slike, a ne fotografije, naišla sam na dio njenog ofli­ci­jelnog web site-​a naz­vano Details. I zaista, njeni radovi su slike. Nev­jerovatne real­is­tične slike. Monks je inače opsjed­nuta relis­tičnim prika­zom ljud­skog tijela i usavršila se do te mjere, da će gledalac biti često u dilemi. Nakon dugog niza god­ina i nast­janja što real­is­tični­jeg prikazi­vanja, dolazi do rekon­struk­cije i dobi­vamo nev­jerovatno emo­tivne slike. Kao glavni pros­tor kupatila, s malo mašte, doći će vam u glavu sulude ideje i ponekad i strašne. Pri­zori mokrih lica priljubljenih uz tuš kabinu ili zas­tore za tuš, lica polu­u­to­pljena u vodu i nev­jerovatna real­is­tičnost čine rad ove slikarke jed­nim od najbizarni­jih vjerovatno za one naj­maš­tovi­tije. No, ni velika mašta nije potrebna za završe­tak ostatka slike. Osim toga, Monks nev­jerovatno det­la­jno slika vodu, paru, kapljice i … sve ostalo u kupaonici.

Alyssa Monk - Paintfuly Beautiful

Alyssa Monk - Paintfuly Beautiful

I came across Alyssa Monk’s painting while reading the newspaper and honestly it looks deceptively like a photograph but looking intensely at it you can actually see the strokes of these outstanding pictures below. The detail and the time that this took is truly a work of Art, of its finest.

Tom Martin: hyperrealism’s ‘artthrob’

Hyperrealism is one of the most talked about mediums of art in today’s world. There’s no surprise, then, why 24-year-old sensation, Tom Martin, is rapidly becoming the buzz of all conversations in galleries and art-establishments worldwide.
Only in his second year as a professional artist, Tom is considered one of the most proficient and exciting hyperrealist talents in the world. It’s through a distinct combination of extreme attention to detail and the perplexing subjects he chooses to paint that’s given Tom this commendable mantle in the art-world.
The gifted artist, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, has a peculiar fashion in terms of the subjects he paints. He began his repertoire painting random metallic apparatus and components of gym equipment, then added to his collections with food packaging and consumer products. Of course such bewildering concepts begs the question ‘why?’ from many an admirer. “At a glance it’s not all that deep. But the things I paint — the gym equipment and the food packaging — are all personal to me. I try to eat healthy and maintain something similar to a body building diet, for the want of a better physical expression. There’s nothing more to it than that really — they are part of me, part of what goes in through my system, and gives me the energy to train and paint, so it tells the viewer something about my life,” answers Tom.
Hyperrealism is a concept of painting that stems from the imagery technique that’s involved in photorealism. The genesis of photorealism began around 40-years ago as a progression from the renowned technique of photography, pop art, made famous by Andy Warhol. Speaking about photorealism in relation to hyperrealism, Tom proclaims: “People argued in the late 1960s that photorealism was very mundane and pointless, as it achieved nothing — no more than a camera could do. Traditionally, photorealism is mundane, and so too is hyperrealism. However its humdrum subjects are made up for by the level of complexity in painting methods.”
The premise behind hyperrealism is to produce paintings that are seemed to have an enhanced sense of reality. An illusion of hyperreal creates an air of astonishment to the finished pieces. The idea of modifying and reinterpreting a photograph is an incredibly detailed and regimented exercise. “For me, I’ve always had an obsessive perfectionist streak — it’s just the way I see things. Call it OCD if you like,” states Tom.
Fresh out of university, graduating with a first class honours degree in 2008, Tom’s growth in talent and stature has developed at an exponential rate. Studying at the University of Huddersfield, Tom shone throughout his course, showing an outstanding ability to produce work tantamount to many professional artists — even at that stage, in his already short-lived career development.
It was Tom’s inspirational levels of dedication that saw him being represented by the prestigious London-based gallery, Plus One. During the third year of his studies, Tom attended numerous exhibitions at Plus One, mainly for pleasure, given his love for the profession. “I regularly visited the gallery during my time at university, as one of my main idols, Pedro Campos, another hyperrealism artist, shows his work there. After a few exhibitions I attended, I decided to approach the gallery owner and mention that I painted too,” says Tom. “To my surprise, the owner asked me to send him some of my work. They instantly loved it and told me they wanted to take me on.”
Given the fact Tom was still at university — and only 21 at the time — the reality of a well-respected and successful gallery wanting to show his work was a remarkable feat. “From my course, there was only me in fairness that wanted to become a working artist. None of my student-peers, that I’m aware of, are practising full-time artists. It’s not for everyone.”
Tom’s mature and modest nature is a strong basis for his ever-growing success. Since he was signed to Plus One, just over a year ago, he has already had the privilege of his own solo show in September 2009 and is scheduled for another in 2011. “It’s quite bizarre that I am now friends with many of my idols and inspirations during the time I learnt my trade. They critique my work, I critique theirs, we chat and have a respect for each other’s achievements.
“It’s strange at first but now I almost think of them on the same level as me. That’s not to say I believe I’m as good as they are, or as established — I’m far from it — but it helps to see them as humans and approachable people,” says Tom. “It makes me feel like my goals are even more achievable than perhaps they were a few years ago, when it felt like another world that they were in.”
It’s pertinent to say that Tom isn’t the archetypal artist by any stretch of the imagination: as a fine-looking, strapping, young gentleman he lives the life of any other twenty-something. “When people hear that I’m an artist they are left quite bemused,” he jokes. Call it stereotyping, if you will, but see it more as a refreshing evolution of art. Art is, indeed, becoming cool again and Tom can be seen as a bona fide paradigm for the recent shaping of art as a reformed culture.
Tom’s latest creation has seen his topic of interest shift dramatically. ‘A Short Silence’ as he’s named it, features a nude woman laying foetus-like. “For quite some time now, I’ve wanted to paint a nude. Due to the concept of my solo show, though, I haven’t been able to.
“The ‘nude’ has long been a greatly appreciated subject of painters, dating back to even before the renaissance,” Tom claims. “But more recently, particular hyperrealist idols of mine have been painting the same subject. Their paintings blow me away, and I guess in a sense I wanted to try and tackle it myself to see how well I did.”
The finished article of ‘A Short Silence’ is truly sublime; it’s a true testament to nude painting. The administration of sophistication and discretion of the woman featured in the painting is a reflection of the class of work Tom Martin is continually producing. This young professional has caused a positive stir in the latest art movements, and he’s sure to make an even bigger name for himself to what ‘Tom Martin’ means to people even now.

Amazing! Alyssa Monk, artist at work and her painting, Steamy Window.
Her photo-realism on canvas is pretty captivating. I love her work.
Make Note To Self: Never get a portrait commissioned by Alyssa when you have a zit from eating too much In N Out Burger here in Cali. Sorry Michael K. :)
Alyssa Monk is from the UK. So talented.