Painterly

Painterly

‘Painterly’ refers to the technique of painting in a loose or less controlled manner, so you can see brush strokes in the final piece.

'Painterliness' is a concept derived from the German term "malerisch" (painterly), introduced by Swiss art historian Heinrich Wölfflin (1864–1945) to standardise the terminology used by art historians in characterising artworks.

The term ‘Painterly’ is used to describe art created in a style that celebrates the specific medium it was made with, such as oil paint, acrylic paint, pastels, or watercolour. Painterly works embrace the texture and movement of the materials, resulting in visible brushstrokes, giving them a more textured and polished appearance. This style is favoured by many artists.

Painterliness is characterised by the application of paint in a loose and less controlled manner, leading to visible brushstrokes in the finished artwork. Prominent art movements associated with painterly styles include Impressionism, Fauvism, and Abstract Expressionism, with Impressionism being one of the most notable examples. Artists like Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas, and Cézanne, among others, exemplify the painterly style in their works.

8 results found for "Painterly"

Artist

Josh Smith

Josh Smith (he/him) was born in 1976 to a US Army family in Okinawa, Japan. Most of his childhood was spent in East Tennessee, USA. He now lives and works in New York.

Josh Smith
Artist

Tyler Hobbs

Tyler Hobbs was born in 1987 in Austin, Texas, where he currently lives and works.

Tyler Hobbs
Artist

Cristina de Miguel

Cristina de Miguel was born 1987 in Seville. She now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Cristina de Miguel
Artist

Neo Image Matloga

Neo Image Matloga was born in 1993 in Mamaila, South Africa, and now lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Neo Image Matloga
Artist

Trudy Benson

Trudy Benson was born in 1985 in Richmond, Virginia, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Trudy Benson
Artist

Katrin Fridriks

Katrin Fridriks was born in 1974 in Reykjavik, Iceland, and currently lives between Luxembourg and Paris.

Katrin Fridriks
Print

Tiff

In Tiff, Shaina McCoy sets a faceless portrait in a sea of textured turquoise.Translating an original painting into print form, the edition takes inspiration from family archives and photographs. Discernible only by her dark hair and sports jersey, the subject’s eschewed features create a sense of universality – encouraging the viewer to make connections with their own memories. McCoy’s thick application of oil paint and broad brushstrokes are closely replicated using innovative UV flatbed techniques, mimicking her rich painterly surfaces through layers of raised texture.

Tiff
Sculpture

Mask of a Woman (Green Patina)

In Mask of a Woman, Nicolas Holiber’s dense impasto forms the basis of a gestural bronze face.The artist’s first bronze edition is an exploration of materiality and artistic intuition. Approaching sculpture through painterly processes, the distorted face is conjured entirely from the artist’s imagination. Replacing the push and pull of heavy acrylic with the malleability of clay, forms and features emerge organically from the cast.“I use a growing set of tools to push and pull the mixture around – adding and subtracting. It’s exciting because it’s a very raw moment, and really, anything can happen. Body parts and faces start to appear.”The edition is also available in a black patina finish.

Mask of a Woman (Green Patina)

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painted bronze carrot reclining seductively on a white marble countertop

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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.