Photorealism: 50 Years of Hyperrealistic Painting

At work from the late 1960s on, and thus extending the concerns of Pop art, Photorealist artists devoted themselves to the veneer of everyday life: glossy shop windows, limousines with shiny chrome, garishly colored plastic kitsch and urban scenes have been the favorite subjects of this school for 50 years. Photorealists might also explore the subtle gradations of light in reflections; various shades and forms in shadow; as well as the multiple gradations of pigment within one apparently homogenous block of color. They often employ technical aids to create painted illusions: they photograph their source materials, transfer them with the aid of slide projectors or scans and then portray the final image precisely with the brush or spray gun on canvas. This publication presents works by leading figures in this movement, starting with first-generation Photorealists such as Richard Estes, Chuck Close and Don Eddy and moving through three generations of artists to the hyper-realistic visual experiences of contemporary digital artists such as Yigal Ozeri, Raphaella Spence and Robert Neffson. In a world awash with a dazzling infinity of instantly produced realistic images, from TV to Polaroids and (more recently) digital camera, these paintings can be spellbinding in their finely-honed precision, while exuding exceptional virtuosity.