Since antiquity, the reproduction of nature in as much detail as possible has been one of the central concerns of painting. In 20th century art, there is no movement that has pursued this competition with reality as programmatically as American photorealism. As a reaction to Abstract Expressionism, artists such as Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Ralph Goings and Ron Kleemann turned to representational painting, which was intended to compete with the medium of photography in its precision and pictorial power. Banal motifs from everyday American life became the trademarks of these highly ambitious painters, who located the power of the images not in the subject itself, but in its astonishingly illusionistic reproduction. With over 80 selected masterpieces, the exhibition sheds light on the development of this art movement, also known as hyperrealism, from the 1960s to the present day.
The numerous international lenders include the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
The numerous international lenders include the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
