Michaël Borremans, 2012. via Wikipedia
Michaël Borremans
Michaël Borremans, born in 1963, is a Belgian painter and filmmaker based in Ghent. His painting style draws inspiration from 18th-century art, with noticeable influences from the techniques of historical painters. In particular, he credits a Spanish court painter as a significant inspiration. In recent years, Borremans has begun using his own photographs or custom-made sculptures as foundations for his paintings.
After earning his M.F.A. in 1996 from Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst in Ghent, Borremans spent several years teaching at the Secondary Municipal Art Institute in Ghent. It wasn’t until the age of 33 that he seriously pursued painting. Initially trained as a photographer, he shifted his focus to drawing and painting in the mid-1990s, often using vintage photographs of people and landscapes to inform his art.
Before gaining widespread recognition, Borremans exhibited his work at a local pub, where another painter took notice and purchased several pieces. This connection eventually led him to influential figures in the art world, resulting in his first significant exhibition at a gallery in Antwerp.
Borremans’ distinctive approach to painting blends technical expertise with enigmatic themes that resist simple explanation. His works often evoke a sense of psychological tension and have been compared to the styles of notable historical painters for their fluidity and unsettling subjects. Over the past two decades, Borremans' mysterious and captivating pieces have earned him a prominent place in contemporary art.
In November 2022, his book "As Sweet as It Gets" (2014) appeared in the background of a controversial fashion campaign by Balenciaga. The campaign was heavily criticized for inappropriate imagery, and the inclusion of Borremans’ book sparked online criticism, with some drawing parallels between the campaign and his work, particularly a series from 2018 that depicted disturbing scenes.
Today, Michaël Borremans is regarded as one of the most significant and sought-after artists of his generation, known for his hauntingly staged portraits that continue to push the boundaries of the painting medium.
Michaël Borremans' figures appear to be in a state of anticipation or performing senseless, repetitive actions, often in minimal, anonymous settings. These figures resemble still lifes—static, passive, and frozen in perplexing poses. They seem trapped in cycles of isolation, their bodies constrained, with some appearing incomplete, as if parts are missing. Emotional and physical absence pervades his work, with heads, limbs, and other features often left out, evoking a fragmented, dreamlike quality. Faces are frequently concealed or turned away, adding to the sense of distance and ambiguity.
Borremans' art is rooted in a solid technical foundation, reflecting a deep engagement with the historical weight of painting. His loose, expressive brushwork in muted, earthy tones lends a sense of nostalgia and melancholy to the canvases. The paintings often depict unsettling, ritualistic scenes, featuring figures in dark hoods or shrouded in mystery, frozen in disturbing or grotesque actions. These scenes tap into collective fears, evoking associations with religious extremism or acts of cruelty.
Borremans uses found images or stages scenes with models and props, meticulously setting up compositions with attention to lighting and form. Despite their photographic origins, his paintings transcend realism, capturing a psychological or emotional essence. His work remains enigmatic and ambiguous, creating surreal, timeless environments where the familiar is distorted and meaning is elusive.
Exhibitions and collections
Michaël Borremans' work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at renowned institutions worldwide, and he has been involved in several prominent art events, including the Sydney Biennale in 2018 in Australia, the Yichuan Biennale in 2012 in China, the Yokohama Triennale in 2011 in Japan, the Vilnius Triennale in 2010 in Lithuania, the Berlin Biennale in 2006 in Germany, and Manifesta 5 in San Sebastián in 2004 in Spain.
In November 2024, a major solo show will open at Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar, Netherlands. Earlier in the year, in April 2024, Prada Rong Zhai in Shanghai hosted "Michaël Borremans: The Promise", housed in a historic 1918 residence in the Jing’an district. In 2020, Borremans participated in the dual exhibition "Michaël Borremans | Mark Manders: Double Silence" at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. That same year, "Michaël Borremans: The Duck" was displayed at Galerie Rudolfinum in Prague. His 2015-2016 exhibition "Michaël Borremans: Fixture" was held at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga in Spain.
A significant retrospective, "Michaël Borremans: As Sweet as It Gets", showcased over 100 pieces from his career at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in 2014. This exhibition traveled to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art later that year and then to the Dallas Museum of Art in 2015. Also in 2014, his first major solo exhibition in Japan, "Michaël Borremans: The Advantage", was held at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.
In 2011, the extensive solo exhibition "Michaël Borremans: Eating the Beard" debuted at the Württembergischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart, with subsequent showings at the Műcsarnok Kunsthalle in Budapest and the Kunsthalle Helsinki. In 2010, he exhibited at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, alongside commissioned pieces displayed at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Numerous solo and group exhibitions followed, including Cleveland Museum of Art in the U.S.; S.M.A.K. in Ghent, Belgium; Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels, Belgium.
His art is also featured in renowned public and private collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh; Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo; High Museum of Art in Atlanta; Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York; Kunstmuseum in Basel; LACMA in Los Angeles; MOCA in Los Angeles; MoMA in New York; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver; Museum Voorlinden in the Netherlands; National Gallery of Canada; National Museum of Art in Osaka; Offentliche Kunstsammlung in Basel; Rubell Family Collection in Miami; SFMOMA in San Francisco; S.M.A.K. in Ghent; Israel Museum in Jerusalem; Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford; and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
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