Michaël Borremans: The Acrobat

A breathtaking selection of Michaël Borremans’s lustrous paintings, this catalogue showcases his technical mastery and creative use of mise-en-scène.

"Michaël Borremans may be the greatest living figurative painter." —John Vincler, The New York Times

"'The Acrobat' provides an opportunity — all too rare on this side of the Atlantic — to see the genius of Borremans in the flesh...It’s painterly magic. A major New York museum retrospective is long overdue." —John Vincler, The New York Times

Recalling classical painting, both through technical mastery and choice in subject matter, Borremans’s depictions of the surprising and the bizarre invites a second look. Uncanny scenes of figures looking at blurred acrobatic displays, hooded subjects rendered in Rembrandt-esque lighting, or solemn portraits demonstrate Borremans’s unique vision. In this recent body of work, Borremans continues to draw the viewer in closer with his intimately scaled paintings of mysterious figures in peculiar arenas.

Accessible yet full of rich detail, this pocket-size book features fifteen masterful works offering a mystifying narrative. An illuminating text by Katya Tylevich mines the scenes Borremans sets, conjuring the multidimensionality of the works’ emotional power and their unique place in the lineage of art history.