Last week I stumbled across these beautifully disturbing works by Belgian artist Berlinde de Bruyckere and completely fell in love. They're almost too uncomfortable to look at but rather entrancing. If you like that sort of thing. I particularly like the figures with hair, which is something I'm currently exploring in my own work and research. The colour is also rather grotesque, almost corpse like with blushes of rouge. It somewhat reminds me of marble statues, something that's generally accepted as beautiful and grand. These figures though are awkward, raw and painful, twisted up and mysterious.
The first image is actually a piece I remember seeing a couple of years ago at the Barbican exhibition The Surreal House, although I didn't note the name. I certainly remember going back and forth to it to get another look though. It's all very unsettling, which is why I think these works are wonderful!
I'm going to be doing an in-depth write up of Berlinde de Bruyckere and her work on my other blog soon as part of my final major and dissertation research.
