Villa del Arte Galleries is exhibiting for the first time in Barcelona the work of the Dutch artist Christiaan Lieverse (1971) in a solo show. The exhibition Linen and Skin will open on 4th July and run until 5th August 2013. The thirteen works on display demonstrate the artist’s fascination for the contrast between the imperfect and the ideal, coldness and empathy, the natural and the artificial.

In his paintings, often described as psychological portraits, Lieverse objective is to raise questions and create a silent dialogue between the spectator and the depicted figure. The subject is also isolated within her context, elevated to a new dimension. The backdrops of the artist’s pieces are vague and almost monochrome and the margins of the canvas do not mark the boundaries of the story, leaving them completely open to interpretation. ‘Sometimes there is a 'lost' colour on my brush, but it always turns out to be temporary...my palette is blue, black and white. My paintings are mainly white and very pale, but now and then also deep black, with cutting white’.

His latest series of works, Hybrids, depicts digitally composed female faces, created by assembling different photographs, where a reflected image projects impeccable symmetry and Phi is used to create flawless proportions. The image is then printed on cowhide to create a ‘perfectly animal’ being, attractive and carnal at the same time. Lieverse explains that, “She is actually perfect and, although I try to, I feel nothing for her. I can’t interpret her; I don’t get too close, yet I still want to. She seems familiar and yet feels unfamiliar at the same time.”

How much can we actually manipulate reality in search of perfection?
In the exhibition Linen and Skin, Lieverse takes a fresh look at all the contradictions that have at once unnerved and fascinated modern mankind, from Frankenstein to Minority Report, and even leads us to reflect on our aesthetic ideals and how we perceive ourselves in today’s world.

Christiaan Lieverse has shown his work in numerous international art fairs and exhibitions. The artist is represented in Spain by Villa del Arte Galleries.

Villa del Arte Galleries
C/ Tapineria, 39
Barcelona 08002 Spain
Ph. +34 93 2680673
info@villadelarte.com
www.villadelarte.com

Opening hours
Daily from 10am to 8pm
Free entry