Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Photorealism

Photorealism is a genre of painting, drawing, and other graphic media that emerged in the United States during the late 1960s, in which artists meticulously replicate photographic images to create highly illusionistic works that appear indistinguishable from photographs at first glance.^[1] The movement, also known as Hyperrealism or Superrealism, arose as a reaction against the abstraction and emotional expression of movements like Abstract Expressionism, instead emphasizing technical precision, optical accuracy, and the banality of everyday subjects such as urban scenes, consumer goods, and portraits.^[2] The origins of Photorealism trace back to New York City and California in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when artists began using photographs as direct references for their work, projecting images onto canvases and employing tools like airbrushes to achieve smooth, detailed surfaces.^[1] The term "Photorealism" was coined by art dealer Louis K. Meisel in 1969 and first appeared in print in 1970, gaining formal recognition through a 1972 exhibition at Documenta 5 in Kassel, Germany, which introduced the style internationally.^[1] By the 1970s, the movement had solidified with Meisel's five defining principles, including the requirement that works be executed from photographs and exhibit a mechanical, detached quality akin to camera vision.^[1] A revival occurred in the early 1990s, influenced by advancements in digital imaging and camera technology, which allowed for even greater fidelity in replicating reality.^[3] Key characteristics of Photorealism include the replication of photographic effects such as reflections, shadows, and slight blurriness, often focusing on light, color, and texture to evoke a sense of hyper-clarity and emotional neutrality.^[1] Artists typically employ techniques like gridding photographs for enlargement and layering paint to mimic the impersonal detachment of mechanical reproduction, challenging viewers to question the boundaries between reality, representation, and perception.^[2] The style often depicts mundane aspects of American consumer culture, such as diners, storefronts, and vehicles, underscoring themes of modernity and the ordinary.^[2] Prominent artists associated with Photorealism include Chuck Close, known for his large-scale, gridded portraits like Big Self-Portrait (1968); Richard Estes, who specialized in reflective urban landscapes; and Ralph Goings, celebrated for his depictions of everyday vehicles and eateries.^[2] Other notable figures are Audrey Flack, with her vibrant still lifes, and sculptor Duane Hanson, who extended photorealistic principles into lifelike figurative works.^[2] The movement's influence persists in contemporary art, inspiring later hyperrealists and prompting ongoing debates about the role of photography in painting and the value of technical skill in an era of digital imagery.^[3]

Definition and Characteristics

Definition

Photorealism is a genre of painting, drawing, and other visual arts that emerged in the United States during the late 1960s, characterized by its aim to replicate the appearance of photographs with such precision that the resulting artwork is nearly indistinguishable from a high-resolution photograph.^[3] This movement developed in the aftermath of Pop Art, seeking to elevate everyday imagery through meticulous replication rather than abstraction or irony.^[1] The term "Photorealism" was coined in 1969 by New York gallery owner Louis K. Meisel to describe this style, which is also known as superrealism or new realism.^[1]^[4] At its core, the genre relies on the fundamental principle that artists use photographs as direct references, often employing techniques such as projecting or tracing images onto their working surface to achieve an exact replication of light, shadow, texture, and fine detail.^[5] This methodical approach ensures that every element mirrors the optical fidelity of the source image, prioritizing accuracy over interpretive liberty.^[6] Unlike photography itself, photorealism emphasizes hand-crafted creation in non-photographic media like oil, acrylic, or graphite, transforming mechanical capture into a labor-intensive artistic process that challenges viewers' perceptions of reality and artificiality.^[1] By blurring the boundaries between the two-dimensional illusion of a photo and the tangible execution of traditional art forms, it prompts contemplation on how we distinguish the real from its representation.^[3]

Visual and Technical Characteristics

Photorealistic works visually replicate photographic qualities, including reflections, shadows, depth of field with slight blurriness in distant areas, and precise rendering of light, color, and texture to achieve hyper-clarity and a sense of emotional neutrality.^[1]^[3] Technically, artists often grid photographs for accurate scaling, project images onto surfaces, and apply layered glazes or airbrushing to mimic the smooth, detached quality of mechanical reproduction, ensuring optical accuracy without visible brushstrokes.^[5]^[2]

Historical Development

Origins in the Late 1960s

Photorealism emerged in the late 1960s as a backlash against the emotional abstraction of Abstract Expressionism and the reductive forms of Minimalism, drawing partial influence from Pop Art's engagement with consumer imagery while emphasizing meticulous precision and optical fidelity over irony or commentary.^[1] This movement arose in the United States amid a broader return to representational art, with painters seeking to replicate photographic detail to challenge prevailing modernist trends that prioritized gesture and concept.^[7] Unlike Pop Art's detached critique of mass culture, photorealists focused on hyper-accurate depiction, often enlarging mundane subjects to monumental scales to underscore the banality of everyday visuals.^[8] A pivotal early event was the 1968 exhibition "Realism Now" at Vassar College Art Gallery, curated by Linda Nochlin and Mary Delahoyd, which showcased proto-photorealist works and highlighted the shift toward illusionistic representation among emerging artists.^[9] The show featured painters like Chuck Close, whose large-scale portraits based on photographs exemplified the movement's incipient focus on mechanical reproduction as a source for painting.^[10] Conceptually, photorealism rooted itself in the post-World War II proliferation of photography, which saturated visual culture through mass media and consumer cameras, prompting artists to interrogate the authenticity of images in an era of mechanical duplication.^[11] British-born painter Malcolm Morley, an early proponent after moving to New York in 1958, exemplified this by using photographs and scale models of ships and trains to create paintings that both mimicked and subverted photographic verisimilitude, critiquing the loss of aura in reproduced imagery.^[1] In New York's burgeoning SoHo district, galleries played a crucial role in nurturing the style, with O.K. Harris—founded by Ivan Karp in 1969—emerging as a key venue that promoted photorealist artists from the movement's inception.^[12] Karp, formerly at Leo Castelli Gallery, championed the precision-driven works as a fresh alternative to abstraction, hosting early shows that solidified the scene.^[13] The term "photorealism" was formalized around 1970 by gallery owner Louis K. Meisel, who coined it in late 1969 during an interview and applied it to exhibitions at his SoHo space, distinguishing the style's reliance on photographic sources.^[14] Early international adoption remained limited, though parallels appeared in Europe; in Germany, Gerhard Richter's photo-paintings from the mid-1960s onward offered a distinct yet contemporaneous approach, blending photorealistic detail with deliberate blurring to question photographic truth rather than replicate it exactly.^[15] Richter's works, part of the broader Capitalist Realism circle, critiqued media imagery in a post-war context but diverged from American photorealism's emphasis on uninflected sharpness.^[16]

Growth and Diversification in the 1970s–1990s

In the 1970s, Photorealism gained international recognition through the 1972 Documenta 5 exhibition in Kassel, Germany, and Louis K. Meisel's formulation of five defining criteria. The movement diversified in the 1980s with explorations into sculpture and still life, though interest waned amid postmodern trends. A revival began in the early 1990s, spurred by digital photography advancements, leading to renewed exhibitions and publications.^[1]

Contemporary Revival Since 2000

In the early 2000s, photorealism experienced a notable resurgence through exhibitions and publications that underscored its adaptability to the burgeoning digital era, reaffirming the movement's commitment to analog precision against the backdrop of widespread digital imaging. The 2002 exhibition "Photorealism: The Liff Collection" at the Naples Museum of Art showcased over 50 works by leading photorealists, highlighting their meticulous replication of everyday scenes and objects as a counterpoint to digital manipulation's ease.^[17] Concurrently, Louis K. Meisel's book Photorealism at the Millennium, published that same year, documented evolving practices among artists who integrated high-resolution digital references while preserving handcrafted detail, signaling a revival that bridged traditional techniques with technological shifts. By the 2010s and into the 2020s, photorealism increasingly embraced hybrid digital-analog methodologies, allowing artists to leverage computational tools for source material while emphasizing painterly execution. Yigal Ozeri's large-scale portraits, for instance, blend digital photography with oil painting to create immersive, cinematic effects, as featured in the 2014 solo exhibition "Photorealism in the Digital Age" at Mana Contemporary in Chicago.^[18] This fusion extended to immersive formats, with photorealist aesthetics influencing virtual reality explorations, exemplified by the 2019 exhibition "50 Years of Realism: Photorealism to Virtual Reality," organized by Plus One Gallery and toured in Brazil, including at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Brasilia, which juxtaposed traditional canvases with VR installations to probe perceptual boundaries.^[19] Meanwhile, digital adaptations gained traction in NFT markets; Sotheby's 2022 auctions of photorealist-inspired digital works, such as those emulating hyper-detailed urban scenes, marked early integrations of the style into blockchain-based art sales.^[20] The movement's global expansion accelerated in the 2000s and 2010s, particularly in Asia and Europe, where emerging practitioners adapted photorealist precision to local contexts. In China, Leng Jun emerged as a prominent figure with hyperrealistic oil paintings of figures and still lifes that capture fleeting expressions with photographic fidelity, gaining international acclaim through solo shows in the 2010s. Similarly, Japanese artist Kei Mieno's meticulous depictions of everyday objects, such as fruits and fabrics, reflect photorealist influences in their optical accuracy, with works exhibited across Asia since the mid-2010s.^[21] In Europe, Swiss painter Franz Gertsch's photorealist landscapes and portraits continued to evolve, culminating in a 2024 retrospective at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark that emphasized the style's technical rigor amid contemporary environmental themes.^[22] Post-2020 developments have seen photorealism intersect with social realism, particularly through pandemic-inspired works that document isolation and resilience with unflinching detail. Artists like those in the "Pandemic Portraits" series by Ken Gonzales-Day employed photorealist techniques to portray masked figures and empty urban spaces, capturing the era's emotional weight in large-scale drawings and paintings exhibited in 2021 group shows.^[23] This shift has fueled debates on AI-generated realism, which increasingly blurs distinctions with traditional photorealism by producing hyper-detailed images that mimic photographic sources without human mediation, as explored in scholarly analyses of AI's impact on artistic authenticity since 2020.^[24] Today, photorealism remains vibrant in international forums, including biennials like the 2024 Venice Biennale, where hybrid realist works by global artists contributed to broader discussions on perception and reality.^[25]

Styles and Techniques

Traditional Painting and Drawing

Photorealist painters and drawers replicate photographic sources using meticulous techniques to achieve optical accuracy. Artists often project or grid photographs onto canvases or paper for precise enlargement, dividing the image into small squares to transfer details proportionally. Layering thin glazes of oil or acrylic paint builds depth and texture, mimicking photographic effects like reflections, shadows, and subtle blur. Airbrushing provides smooth gradients and even surfaces, while fine brushes capture intricate details such as light highlights and material textures. These methods emphasize a detached, mechanical quality, as defined by Louis K. Meisel's principles, focusing on everyday subjects without emotional interpretation.^[1]

Sculpture, Printmaking, and Digital Influences

Photorealism extends into sculpture through techniques that replicate photographic realism in three dimensions, often using cast materials to mimic the textures and forms captured in photographs. Artists like John DeAndrea create life-size figures by casting from live models in materials such as fiberglass, polyester resin, or polyvinyl, then applying oil paints to achieve lifelike skin tones, hair, and subtle imperfections like clothing pressure marks.^[26]^[27]^[28] These sculptures, such as DeAndrea's female nudes, emphasize hyper-detailed surfaces that challenge viewers' perceptions of reality, preserving the immediacy of the human form through meticulous hand-finishing.^[29] In printmaking, photorealists adapt photographic sources to produce multiples with exceptional fidelity, employing techniques like silkscreen, lithography, and photogravure to translate images into reproducible yet richly textured works. Chuck Close, a pioneering figure, used silkscreen and lithography to generate large-scale portraits from gridded photographs, layering colors to replicate the mechanical precision of photo enlargement while introducing subtle variations through manual processes.^[30]^[31] These methods allow for the replication of fine details, such as tonal gradients and halftone patterns, enabling editions that maintain the optical illusion of depth and luminosity found in original photographs.^[32] Digital influences have reshaped photorealism since the early 2000s, with tools like Photoshop enabling artists to edit and composite source photographs for enhanced precision before translating them into traditional media. In sculpture, digital modeling software like ZBrush combined with 3D printing allows for hyper-realistic forms, where scans or models inform casts refined by hand-painting for details like skin pores.^[33] Hybrid techniques further integrate digital and analog methods, such as using 3D printing to fabricate structural bases from scanned photographs, followed by hand-painting and detailing to achieve photorealistic finishes. This approach, employed in contemporary sculptures, combines the speed of additive manufacturing with manual refinement for intricate details like skin pores or fabric folds.^[33] Since the 2020s, AI tools have enabled the generation of photorealistic-style digital images, influencing broader hyperrealistic practices, though traditional photorealists prioritize photo-based manual replication. Emerging VR technologies, as demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 2023, feature photorealistic rendering for immersive environments using high-resolution displays and advanced holography.^[34] A key challenge in these evolutions is upholding the hand-made ethos central to photorealism amid proliferating digital tools, which can blur distinctions between authentic craft and algorithmic output, prompting debates on artistic integrity and viewer trust.^[35] Artists navigate this by emphasizing manual intervention, ensuring that digital aids enhance rather than supplant the labor-intensive replication of reality.^[36]

Notable Artists and Works

Pioneering Figures

Malcolm Morley, a British-born artist who moved to New York in the early 1960s, is widely regarded as one of the earliest pioneers of photorealism, often credited with inventing the style through his large-scale paintings of ocean liners and aircraft derived from photographs and models. His works from this period, such as Ocean Liner (1965) and The Ruskin Family (1967), emphasized precise scale and emotional detachment, treating photographic sources with a sensationalist intensity that infused photorealism with subtle expressionistic undertones.^[37]^[1]^[38] Richard Estes emerged as a key figure in the late 1960s, focusing on urban scenes that captured the reflective surfaces of glass storefronts and city infrastructure in New York. His paintings, including the iconic Telephone Booths (1967), meticulously rendered multiple layers of reflections to depict everyday urban life with hyper-accurate detail, highlighting the movement's emphasis on optical complexity and the banality of modern environments.^[39]^[40]^[41] Chuck Close revolutionized photorealist portraiture starting in the late 1960s with monumental, photo-based heads of friends and colleagues, employing a grid system to transfer photographic details onto canvas using airbrush techniques for seamless blending. His early black-and-white works, like Big Self-Portrait (1967–1968), transitioned to color in the 1970s with pieces such as Portrait of Robert (Maxwell) (1974), establishing a methodical process that prioritized mechanical precision over emotional interpretation.^[42]^[30] Audrey Flack, transitioning from abstract expressionism, became a prominent photorealist in the early 1970s through her still-life paintings that incorporated feminist themes and vanitas motifs, using photographs to assemble symbolic assemblages of objects. Her breakthrough work, World War II (Vanitas) (1976–1977), depicted a cluttered table with wartime memorabilia, cosmetics, and fruits to explore themes of mortality, femininity, and historical trauma with luminous detail.^[43]^[44]^[45] Ralph Goings contributed to photorealism's focus on commonplace American subjects in the 1970s, painting pickup trucks and diner interiors with photographic fidelity to elevate the mundane to an almost reverential status. Series like McDonald's Pickup (1970) and subsequent diner scenes, such as A-1 Sauce (1973), captured the glossy textures of vehicles and Formica counters, underscoring the movement's interest in consumer culture and everyday transience.^[46]^[47]^[48] Duane Hanson, an American sculptor active from the late 1960s, extended photorealistic principles into three-dimensional lifelike figurative works using polyester resin, fiberglass, and polychrome to depict ordinary people in everyday poses. His sculptures, such as Museum Guard (1975–1976), captured the banal details of working-class life with startling realism, contributing to the movement's exploration of hyper-accuracy in sculpture.^[49] These pioneering artists shared a New York-based milieu in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where they converged through exhibitions and galleries that formalized photorealism as a distinct movement. Dealer Louis K. Meisel played a pivotal role by assembling a roster of around ten core photorealists by 1970, including Close, Estes, Flack, Goings, and Morley, whose works he promoted through shows and publications that defined the style's parameters.^[50]^[1]

Modern and International Practitioners

In the late 2000s and 2010s, Robert Bechtle continued to explore suburban scenes through photorealistic paintings, evolving his iconic depictions of parked cars and Bay Area neighborhoods with heightened attention to midday light and everyday banality. His series featuring multiple vehicles, such as Four Cars on Texas Street (2009), extended into later works that maintained a focus on the quiet geometry of domestic spaces, reflecting his lifelong engagement with personal surroundings until his death in 2020.^[51]^[52] Internationally, Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri has advanced photorealism since the early 2000s with large-scale oil paintings of ethereal portraits, depicting young women in lush natural settings that blend hyper-detailed realism with romantic, dreamlike qualities. Ozeri's technique, rooted in photographic references, captures intricate textures of foliage and skin, as seen in his cinematic compositions exhibited at major galleries.^[53]^[54] Among emerging artists in the 2020s, American painter Alyssa Monks has gained prominence for her photorealistic portrayals of water-distorted figures, using steam, glass, and liquid filters to blur boundaries between abstraction and representation in intimate, voyeuristic scenes. Monks' oil paintings, such as those featuring bodies pressed against foggy windows, highlight tactile distortions and emotional vulnerability.^[55]^[56] Spanish artist Pedro Campos contributes to modern hyperrealism with meticulous oil paintings of automotive subjects, transforming luxury cars and mechanical details into startlingly lifelike still lifes that play with reflections and surfaces. His works, often centered on vehicles as symbols of modernity, exemplify post-2010 photorealism's precision in everyday objects.^[57]^[58] By 2025, trends in photorealism have increasingly incorporated ecological themes, as seen in Jenny Morgan's hyper-realistic figures merging with ethereal landscapes, where nude forms dissolve into natural environments to evoke renewal and environmental interconnectedness. Morgan's recent pieces, like The Landing (2025), integrate vibrant, diffused colors to suggest human-nature symbiosis, aligning with global biennials' emphasis on sustainable narratives among international practitioners.^[59]^[60]

Cultural Impact and Legacy

Influence on Art and Media

Photorealism's resurgence since the early 2000s has played a pivotal role in reviving representational painting within the art world, fostering a renewed appreciation for figurative techniques that counterbalance the dominance of abstraction in modern art. This revival is evident in the Contemporary Realism movement, which builds on photorealism's emphasis on precise, illusionistic depiction to explore everyday subjects with heightened clarity and detail.^[61] By prioritizing visual accuracy drawn from photographic sources, photorealism has encouraged artists to engage more directly with observable reality, influencing broader trends in narrative and perceptual art practices. Additionally, its techniques have extended to street art and graffiti realism, particularly in the 2010s, where hyperrealistic murals blend photorealistic precision with urban graffiti aesthetics, as demonstrated in the intermedial works of artists like Yevgen Samborsky.^[62] The movement's impact extends into media and advertising, where photorealistic styles enhance visual persuasion through hyper-detailed representations. In advertising, companies have adopted photorealistic approaches for billboards and large-scale murals, creating hand-painted illusions that mimic photographic realism to captivate audiences, as pioneered by firms like Colossal Media in New York City.^[63] This crossover is particularly pronounced in film, where photorealism-inspired CGI techniques produce hyperreal effects in 2020s blockbusters. For instance, in Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and its sequel (2024), visual effects teams at DNEG utilized advanced compositing in Nuke to blend practical sets with digital elements, achieving seamless photorealistic environments that immerse viewers in otherworldly yet convincingly tangible landscapes.^[64] Such applications underscore photorealism's role in elevating media production standards for authenticity and spectacle. Photorealism's digital legacy is profound, inspiring photorealistic rendering in video games and interactive media. Epic Games' Unreal Engine, for example, has advanced real-time photorealism through features like Nanite and Lumen, enabling developers to create environments and characters with lifelike lighting, textures, and details that echo traditional photorealist principles.^[65] This influence peaked during the NFT art boom of 2021–2023, when digital artists leveraged photorealistic styles in blockchain-based works, contributing to a market surge where art NFTs reached $2.9 billion in trading volume in 2021 alone, driven by hyper-detailed virtual collectibles.^[66] In education, photorealism has shaped post-2000 art school curricula by emphasizing photo-reference as a foundational tool for developing technical precision and observational skills. Art institutions integrate photorealistic methods into still-life and representational courses, teaching students to achieve photographic accuracy through projection and meticulous rendering.^[67] Globally, museum collections have expanded to preserve this legacy; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for instance, maintains extensive holdings of photorealist paintings from the late 1960s to early 1980s, with exhibitions such as the 2022 "Unreal" show highlighting themes like postwar landscapes and car culture to educate diverse audiences.^[68] By 2025, photorealism continues to influence emerging technologies, particularly AI art generators that produce hyperrealistic outputs mimicking painted illusions from photographic inputs. Tools like those reviewed in global standards analyses enable users to generate photorealistic images with unprecedented detail, but this has intensified debates on authorship, as generative AI blurs lines between human intent and algorithmic creation in artistic practice.^[69]^[70] Scholars argue that such systems transform traditional photorealist agency, prompting discussions on whether AI-enhanced works retain the movement's emphasis on perceptual authenticity or dilute the artist's singular vision.^[71]

Criticisms and Scholarly Debates

Early criticisms of photorealism in the 1970s often highlighted its technical prowess while decrying its perceived emotional and intellectual shallowness. Art critic Hilton Kramer, writing for The New York Times, dismissed the movement as superficial, exemplified in his 1976 review of Audrey Flack's work where he likened her to "the Barbra Streisand of photorealism," implying an overemphasis on spectacle at the expense of depth.^[72] Such views positioned photorealism as anti-intellectual, aligning with formalist critiques that marginalized realist art for lacking the conceptual rigor of abstraction.^[73] In the 1980s and 1990s, postmodern theorists intensified debates by accusing photorealism of reinforcing consumer capitalism through its glossy depictions of everyday commodities and urban scenes. Critics argued that the movement's hyper-detailed renderings of consumer objects, such as cars and advertisements, mirrored the commodification of culture without offering critique, thus lacking the narrative complexity and subversive potential of abstract or conceptual art.^[74] This perspective drew from broader postmodern analyses, like Fredric Jameson's examination of how visual arts under late capitalism prioritize surface over historical depth, rendering photorealism complicit in ideological reinforcement rather than resistance.^[75] Gender and diversity issues have also fueled scholarly scrutiny, with the early photorealist scene dominated by white male artists, marginalizing female and non-white voices. Audrey Flack stood out as a rare exception among pioneers like Chuck Close and Richard Estes, her still lifes incorporating feminist themes that challenged the movement's typical neutrality.^[76] This dynamic prompted feminist rereadings in the 2000s, reframing Flack's oeuvre as a critique of patriarchal structures within art history and highlighting how her photorealism infused personal and gendered narratives into an otherwise impersonal style.^[77] Contemporary arguments in the digital era question photorealism's relevance amid advancements in AI-generated imagery, suggesting the painstaking manual replication of photographs may border on obsolescence. Scholars note that tools like generative AI produce hyperrealistic outputs instantaneously, diminishing the perceived innovation in traditional photorealist techniques.^[78] Yet, 2020s scholarship also defends photorealism's enduring value in countering "fake news" perceptions by emphasizing verifiable, hand-crafted realism that underscores human agency over algorithmic simulation.^[79] Scholarly gaps persist, particularly in analyses of non-Western adaptations of photorealism, where limited research explores how artists in regions like Asia or Latin America reinterpret the style amid local cultural contexts. Recent 2024–2025 papers begin addressing ecological implications, examining photorealistic visualizations in environmental modeling to depict climate impacts, though comprehensive studies on the movement's global and sustainability dimensions remain sparse.^[80]^[81]

References

[1]
Photorealism Movement Overview - The Art Story
Dec 5, 2014 · The name Photorealism (also known as Hyperrealism or Superrealism) was coined in reference to those artists whose work depended heavily on photographs.
[2]
Photorealism | History, Characteristics, Artists - Sotheby's
Photorealism emerged around New York and California, with artists like Chuck Close, Richard Estes, and Ralph Goings. It is associated with painting and some ...
[3]
Photorealism - Tate
Photorealism is a painting style that emerged in Europe and the USA in the late 1960s, characterised by its painstaking detail and precision. Andrew Grassie. ...Missing: key | Show results with:key
[4]
https://hancockgallery.co.uk/blogs/news/photography-and-photorealism
[5]
https://www.invaluable.com/blog/photorealism/
[6]
Photorealism | National Galleries of Scotland
Photorealism is an extremely detailed naturalistic art, often based on photographs, associated with North American art of the 1970s.Missing: history | Show results with:history<|control11|><|separator|>
[7]
Photorealism - Aesthetics of Design
Jan 24, 2024 · Photorealism emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States as a counter to Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, evolving from ...<|separator|>
[8]
Pop Art as the Root of Photorealist Painting - Vermeer Magazine
Sep 12, 2025 · Photorealism built directly on Pop Art, a natural offshoot that took the return to representation to obsessive new heights. It reacted against ...
[9]
Remembering Linda Nochlin - Art News
Jan 1, 2018 · As a curator, Nochlin co-organized ... exhibition at Vassar College along with another instructor there, Mary Delahoyd. Titled “Realism Now ...
[10]
Chuck Close with Phong Bui - The Brooklyn Rail
One was called Realism Now, curated by Linda Nochlin at Vassar College. Close: I chose not to be in that show. I chose not to be in another one in Milwaukee ...<|separator|>
[11]
[PDF] PhotoResearcher - Columbia University
The photographic fact. The very ubiquity of the photographic fact in post-WWII art and film has rebuffed my at- tempts to theorize or historicize it adequately.
[12]
Photorealism's Journey to Hard-Won Art-World Respect - 1stDibs
Aug 14, 2017 · ... Ivan Karp, founder of the pioneering O.K. Harris gallery in New York and a champion of Photorealism. “You could see elements that were ...
[13]
[PDF] PHOTOREALISM: MORE THAN EYE CANDY - Louis K. Meisel Gallery
A photorealist painting is always more than it appears to be. From the period mid-century cars of Robert Bechtle to the shimmering coats on the horses of ...
[14]
Photorealism - Louis K. Meisel Gallery
Late in 1969, I coined the word Photorealism during an interview with Gregory Battcock. The term Photorealism really took off in early 1970 …Missing: formalized shows
[15]
Life and Work of Gerhard Richter, Abstract and Photorealistic Artist
Jan 18, 2019 · By the mid-1960s, Gerhard Richter began focusing on photo-paintings, painting from already existing photographs. His methodology included ...
[16]
Capitalist Realism Movement Overview | TheArtStory
Jul 16, 2019 · The Capital Realists Richter, Polke, Konrad+ shared a critical stance toward the invasion of American consumerism into West Germany.
[17]
Richard McLean - OK Harris
2002 Photorealism: The Liff Collection, Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL ... 2001 Third Annual Realism Invitational, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
[18]
Photorealism in the Digital Age: Yigal Ozeri - Mana Contemporary
Photorealism in the Digital Age, a solo exhibition of recent photorealist paintings by New York-based Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri. The exhibition features works ...
[19]
50 Years of Realism - Photorealism to Virtual Reality on artnet
Explore 50 Years of Realism - Photorealism to Virtual Reality at Plus One Gallery. Learn more about the exhibition and featured artworks.
[20]
2022 in Review: NFTs Break New Ground | Digital Art - Sotheby's
Prominent artists like Sebastião Salgado embrace NFTs as the digital art market matures and blockchain technology proves useful for certifying provenance.Missing: photorealism VR
[21]
20 Hyperrealistic Paintings By A Japanese Artist Are So Precise You
Sep 24, 2024 · Sep 25, 2024 - Kei Mieno is a highly acclaimed Japanese artist known for his breathtaking hyperrealistic oil paintings, which are often ...<|separator|>
[22]
Franz Gertsch - Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Nov 10, 2024 · In spring 1973, the large painting 'Medici' was the centerpiece of Louisiana's Extreme Realism exhibition. The year before, this particular ...Missing: 2000s | Show results with:2000s
[23]
Pandemic Portraits - Ken Gonzales-Day
Ken Gonzales-Day, Pandemic Portraits, 2020- 2022. The United States surpassed one million Covid-19 deaths on May 17, 2022. Globally the number is over 6.9 ...Missing: photorealism social
[24]
Photorealism versus photography. AI-generated depiction in the age ...
Apr 10, 2024 · Today's crisis-oriented public debate about AI images serves neither democracy, art, journalism, nor photography. The purpose of the article is ...Abstract · Photorealism (versus... · Detection (versus Depiction)Missing: 2020s | Show results with:2020s
[25]
Biennale Arte 2024 | Homepage 2024
The 60th International Art Exhibition took place from Saturday 20 April to Sunday 24 November, 2024 (pre-opening on April 17, 18 and 19), curated by Adriano ...La Biennale accessible · Venice Pavilion · Biennale Sessions · ArtistsMissing: photorealism | Show results with:photorealism
[26]
Lissa Pregnant - Yale University Art Gallery
Working in an extraordinarily realistic style, John DeAndrea makes sculptures that often trick the eye. ... Fiberglass and polyester resin, oil paint, and mixed ...
[27]
John De Andrea: Photorealist Pop Sculptor, Verism School
Most Photorealist sculpture is cast directly from human figures, a process used by Segal, although he used plaster instead of fibreglass. John De Andrea and ...
[28]
John de Andrea | National Galleries of Scotland
DeAndrea is best known for his painted fibre-glass or polyvinyl acetate sculptures of human figures cast from life. His work is linked to the Photorealist ...
[29]
John DeAndrea — Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois
Starting with fiber glass positives, evolving to polyvinyl resin and then onto bronze, DeAndrea's earliest works were painted with automotive paint, later ...
[30]
Chuck Close | Pace Gallery
Chuck Close is known for his innovative conceptual portraiture, depicting his subjects, which are transposed from photographs, into visual data organized by ...
[31]
Chuck Close | Self Portrait (2007) | Available for Sale - Artsy
The limited edition is printed on Somerset Satin White paper. Printed at Watanabe Press. Materials. Lithograph/Silkscreen.
[32]
https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/chuck-close/screen-prints
[33]
AI Art Styles Explained: A Visual Guide With Examples
Sep 17, 2025 · Often called “photorealism” or simply “realism,” this style uses high-resolution outputs and advanced model training to achieve authenticity— ...
[34]
https://www.siggraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ACM-SIGGRAPH-2023-Emerging-Technologies.html
[35]
SIGGRAPH '23: ACM SIGGRAPH 2023 Emerging Technologies
The advances demonstrated in this work aim to provide a glimpse into a future where our displays can fully reproduce three-dimensional virtual content.
[36]
[PDF] Photorealistic True-Dimensional Visualization for VR Headsets
Literature works have focused on: (a) elements contributing to high-fidelity image reproduction and visual realism, e.g. the role played by dis- play resolution ...
[37]
Digital Art Is Not “Real Art” | Muddy Colors
Apr 22, 2014 · Digital art is not considered "real" by some, but the author argues it is a universal expression of creativity, and the focus should be on the ...Dan Luvisi · No & Yes · Leave A ReplyMissing: ethos | Show results with:ethos
[38]
The Artistic Evolution: Digital Art vs. Handmade Artwork - LinkedIn
Aug 4, 2023 · Both forms offer distinctive advantages and challenges, attracting different audiences and artists. While digital art enhances accessibility ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[39]
The old man and the sea | Arts - The Guardian
Jun 1, 2001 · He made his name in the 60s as a pioneer "photo-realist", with paintings of ocean liners that look just like snaps from real life. In the 70s ...
[40]
A Tribute to Malcolm Morley - The Brooklyn Rail
... Malcolm was the Wrong Way Corrigan of Photorealism who became famous for his anti-expressive renditions of luxury liners, contemporary interiors, race ...Missing: reproduction | Show results with:reproduction
[41]
Telephone Booths - Estes, Richard. Museo Nacional Thyssen ...
Most of his paintings portray urban landscapes and specific details of life in big cities, particularly New York, as with the present Telephone Booths executed ...
[42]
Richard Estes Paintings, Bio, Ideas - The Art Story
Nov 19, 2016 · Richard Estes's style emphasized the craft of painting, which was central to the jaw-dropping verisimilitude of photorealistic art.Bus With Reflection Of The... · Telephone Booths · Double Self-Portrait
[43]
Richard Estes | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation
Estes generally prefers depicting familiar urban fixtures—modest shop windows, signage, cars, telephone booths, and intersections—to iconic landmarks, although ...
[44]
Chuck Close | Whitney Museum of American Art
2000–2001 · A colorful, stylized portrait of a bearded man with glasses, composed of geometric patterns. Chuck Close Self-Portrait 2000 · A monochromatic ...
[45]
Audrey Flack, "World War II (Vanitas)" (1978) | PAFA
Artist: Audrey Flack. Date of Birth: (b. 1931). Date: 1978. Medium: Oil over acrylic on canvas. Dimensions: 96 x 96 in. (243.84 x 243.84 cm.).Missing: photorealism still lifes Shadowbox 1970
[46]
World War II (Vanitas) - Louis K. Meisel Gallery
Audrey Flack (b. 1931, New York, New York; d. 2024, Southampton, New York) is most recognized for her Photorealist still lifes that depict dressing tables, ...Missing: Shadowbox 1970
[47]
Audrey Flack | World War II | Whitney Museum of American Art
Audrey Flack, World War II, 1976, printed 1984. Dye transfer print ... A still life photograph featuring a variety of fruits such as apples, grapes, pears.Missing: photorealism Shadowbox 1970
[48]
Ralph Goings - Louis K. Meisel Gallery
His first series depicted pickup trucks in rural areas, and his second series of diner interiors and still lifes, was highly acclaimed. Goings' later work ...
[49]
Ralph Goings Paintings, Bio, Ideas - The Art Story
Jan 7, 2017 · Ralph Goings's photorealist ... " His pickup trucks and diners reflect the mobile, freewheeling quality of the American lifestyle.
[50]
Diner Coffee and Pickup Trucks: Ralph Goings's Hyperreal Americana
Jan 12, 2015 · A 1974 move from California to New York marked a switch from paintings of bright exteriors to contemplative interiors and still lifes in diners— ...
[51]
Photo-Realism: MEISEL,Louis K.: 9780810914643 - Amazon.com
The Photo-Realists, creators of the most popular movement in American painting to emerge in the 1970s, portray the bright shiny surface of the American Dream ...Missing: roster | Show results with:roster
[52]
Robert Bechtle - Gladstone Gallery
Robert Bechtle. Four Cars on Texas Street, 2009. Oil on linen 36 x 66 inches (91.4 x 167.6 cm) 37 1⁄4 x 67 1⁄2 inches (94.6 x 171.5 cm) framed. Robert Bechtle.Missing: suburban scenes Towle
[53]
Robert Bechtle, Photorealist Painter of Suburbia, Dies at 88
Sep 30, 2020 · Robert Bechtle, a photorealist painter who depicted suburban landscapes, parked cars and the way the California light slants on a stucco building at midday, ...
[54]
Yigal Ozeri - Louis K. Meisel Gallery
Yigal Ozeri (b. 1958, Israel) has developed a unique style of Photorealist painting since embracing realism in early 2000.Missing: ethereal | Show results with:ethereal
[55]
Yigal Ozeri | Artnet
Yigal Ozeri is a contemporary Israeli painter known for his photorealistic renderings of young women amidst natural settings, such as rainforests and deserts.Missing: ethereal | Show results with:ethereal
[56]
Zhang Xiaogang - Pace Gallery
Zhang Xiaogang is recognized for his figurative paintings and sculptures that navigate the cultural terrain of contemporary China.
[57]
Zhang Xiaogang - Artnet
Zhang Xiaogang is a Chinese painter and preeminent member of the contemporary Chinese avant-garde. His Surrealist-inspired, stylized portraits
[58]
Photorealistic Paintings: Gazing Through a Steamy Shower
Feb 1, 2013 · Brooklyn-based painter Alyssa Monks simulates a distorted view of people as seen through a steamy glass pane, condensed with water droplets.<|separator|>
[59]
Home - Alyssa Monks |
Alyssa Monks |. Home; Portfolio. 2015 – 2025 · 2010 – 2015 · 2005 – 2009 · Installation Shots · Exhibitions · Bio · Instruction · Purchase · Privacy · Contact/ ...2015 – 2025 · Instruction · Purchase · 2010 – 2015Missing: photorealism water- distorted figures 2020s
[60]
Pedro Campos - Plus One Gallery
Born : 1966, Madrid, Spain. The hyperreal paintings of Spanish artist Pedro Campos shock the senses by giving mundane items a new lease of life.
[61]
Spanish Hyperrealist Pedro Campos Renders Pop-Art Subjects With ...
Jan 19, 2022 · His works center around prescribed subject matter: luxury cars, aluminum tins, candies in glass jars, macaroons, and the spines of art books.Missing: photorealism | Show results with:photorealism
[62]
Jenny Morgan - ANAT EBGI GALLERY
A Brooklyn–based painter celebrated for her works depicting hyper-realistic figures set amid ethereal landscapes.Missing: photorealism trends
[63]
The Landing, 2025 by Jenny Morgan | Ocula
Jenny Morgan's diaphanous paintings are inhabited by hyper-realistic figures ebbing in and out of focus, merging into landscape or diffusing gently into a ...Missing: photorealism trends
[64]
Contemporary Realism Movement Overview | TheArtStory
Aug 21, 2017 · Contemporary Realism focused on a return to a straightforward, figurative representation of life - beyond modernist abstraction.Missing: impact | Show results with:impact
[65]
Images >> Yevgen Samborsky and the Art of Possibility
Feb 4, 2025 · His visual language is entirely intermedial: he draws on photography, graffiti, hyperrealism, and internet machine aesthetics. His indebtedness ...
[66]
A Look Behind the Brooklyn Company That Creates Incredible Hand ...
Jun 16, 2020 · Colossal is known for incredible hand-painted, photo-realistic advertising murals that can be seen all over New York City. Brooklyn-based ...
[67]
How DNEG created the award-winning VFX of Dune | Foundry
We go behind the scenes of Dune and uncover how DNEG used Foundry's compositing toolset, Nuke, to help them create the film's Oscar-worthy visual effects.Missing: hyperreal 2020s
[68]
Striving for Real-Time Photorealism - Unreal Engine
We are constantly checking out new rendering engines and right now making big use of Corona Renderer, V-Ray and Octane. Each engine has its strengths.
[69]
2021's NFT Boom: A Short History - Art News
Dec 21, 2021 · Though NFTs have been around since 2014, 2021 was the first year that this novel technology broke through into the mainstream.Missing: 2021-2023 | Show results with:2021-2023
[70]
The Evolution of Still Life: Reinventing a Classic Art Form - RMCAD
Jun 2, 2025 · In contrast, Photorealism, emerging in the late 1960s and 1970s, aimed for an almost photographic accuracy in its depiction of mundane objects, ...Missing: photo- | Show results with:photo-
[71]
Unreal: Photorealist Paintings from the Smithsonian American Art ...
Featuring 22 iconic works by 19 artists, Unreal examines the photorealist style through themes of Postwar Landscape and Car Culture as well as examples of ...
[72]
From Photorealism to Artistic Flair: Best AI Art Generators You Can ...
Discover the best AI art generators of 2025, from photorealism to surreal styles, plus top free tools and tips for creators of all levels.
[73]
AGENCY AND AUTHORSHIP IN AI ART: TRANSFORMATIONAL ...
Oct 2, 2025 · Generative AI (GenAI) has intensified the authorship debate (Kawakami & Venkatagiri, 2024) because this technology is designed to manipulate ...
[74]
Generative AI, agency and aesthetic disruption in photographic art
In this article, I examine generative artificial intelligence (henceforth: GenAI) as a potential disruptive technology in photographic art.
[75]
Pioneering Photorealist Audrey Flack Dies at 93 | Artnet News
Jul 1, 2024 · In a review for the New York Times in 1976, Hilton Kramer called Flack “the Barbra Streisand of photorealism,” bemoaning that she was the first ...
[76]
Realism: 'The Painting Is Fiction Enough - The New York Times
By Hilton Kramer. April 28, 1974. Realism: 'The Painting Is Fiction Enough ... refers to the tradition of formalist criticism that has placed all forms of realist art beyond consideration.
[77]
Modernism, Postmodernism and Gleam: On the Photorealist Work ...
May 14, 2010 · Looking at the Photorealist's fetish for surface and gleam, Dieter Roelstraete sees the reflection of the movement's oversized investment in craft.
[78]
[PDF] Postmodernism and Consumer Society - analepsis
The concept of postmodernism is not widely accepted or even understood today. Some of the resistance to it may come from the unfamiliarity of the works it ...
[79]
Artist Audrey Flack's Legacy | Smithsonian American Art Museum
Jul 17, 2024 · In the 1970s, Flack was part of a cohort of predominantly white male Photorealists—artists who used photographs as the source for paintings ...Missing: diversity issues dominated rereadings 2000s
[80]
Feminist As Audrey Flack - Forbes
Jan 26, 2021 · In order to be a woman, and fit in with the abstract expressionists, Flack told me, you had to behave more like men than the men did. “There was ...
[81]
What Is Realism in the Age of AI?
Jan 31, 2025 · Photographs have long been manipulated or altered, but the rise in generative models gives new meaning to the idea of a “real” image.
[82]
Photorealism versus photography. AI-generated depiction in the age ...
Sep 21, 2025 · The present study offers a critique of this direction of digital representation towards realism in current landscape design. To illustrate ...
[83]
Using photorealistic 3D visualization to convey ecosystem ... - Frontiers
May 14, 2025 · We developed a method that combines spatially explicit models of complex, self-organizing ecosystems with state-of-the art visualization techniques.<|separator|>
[84]
AI and Non-Western Art Worlds: Reimagining Critical AI Futures ...
Apr 25, 2025 · This paper examines the potential for localized adaptation, appropriation and re-imagination of AI for non-western cultural expression, using the Persian Gulf ...