Eating the beard by Michael Borremans, Antwerp

Michael Borremans is not only characterized by the virtuosity of his technique, in the trail of Velasquez or Goya, he is also a metteur en scène of troubled atmospheres. Perfectly executed with oil or gouache, his paintings conceal ambiguous details, dissimulated in the background, which are as much counterpoints in their evident formal beauties. These lengthened bodies distillate an anxious climate, these elusive glances call out. Behind an apparent classicism Borremans’ paintings are equivocal. Is it a morbid humor? Is it a depressing depiction of the human condition? One of the singular artists from David Zwirner’s gallery, Borremans allows his spectators to interpret his works, with a pleasure barely hidden. Eating the Beard by Michael Borremans runs through November 27 at Zeno X Gallery, Leopold De Waelplaats 16, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium. Text Pierre-Alexandre Mateos

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