Michaël Borremans (pronounced Bohr-MAHNS, as I was corrected haughtily in Holland) although rarely known, is one of my absolute favorite artists. He cunningly deals with the political realm by drawing from a bizarre and invented world. The work is largely successful because of its unobtrusive strangeness - meaningful yet subtle enough not to reduce the complexity of the paintings.
This subtlety even adds to the profundity of his images, which often depict ghostly figures giving working-class instructional guides or vague designs for public and bourgeois sculptures alike. His blunt and explanatory titles give light to his wit and general mood- the piece above is titled Various ways of avoiding visual contact with the outside world using yellow isolating tape. Enough said.
Borremans lives in Belgium and is represented by Zeno X Gallery there. He has work in the MOMA’s collection, as well as in the Cleveland Museum of Art, in which one of his only major US exhibitions, Hallucinations and Reality, was held.
Unfortunately for us Americans, there very little about Borremans on the web, although more images are slowly surfacing. He has a beautiful book of drawings, but it’s as elusive as the artist. Even though it seems he’s disappeared, Borremans has had consistent shows at Zeno X (where you can find the most images of his work) and is apparently making some films.
I honestly wish I owned some of his work.