Dali's distant, quiet cousin?

Michael Borremans
Trickland, 2002
oil on canvas 38 x 55 cm

Back in June, I was on the jury of a criminal trial in downtown Los Angeles. We were given generous breaks, including a 1.5 hour lunch every day. We had been told, at orientation, that we could visit both MOCA locations for free by showing our juror badge. So, I took my lunch there one day and saw the Marlene Dumas show, as well as the "Stuff from our Collection" (1980-2005) show. Both were decent, but I am particularly glad I saw the Collection show, because I was introduced to a brilliant painter whom I'd never heard of before. It was Michael Borremans, whom I later researched to live and work in Belgium. The piece I saw at MOCA was lovely--something I learned that he painted in numerous variations--a young girl in a pleated skirt, bisected through the legs by a mirrored surface. It was a quiet piece, despite the obvious surrealist content. I found more of Borremans' work on the Zeno X Gallery website, and found the same resonance in his pieces there. His impeccable composition and sedulous use of color contribute to the quiet, lucious tension set up by the subjects. All else I can say is that they are extremely lovely.

Thunder, 2006
oil on canvas 36 x 34.5 cm

The Table, 2001
oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm

Various ways of avoiding visual contact with the outside world using yellow isolating tape, 1998

pencil and watercolor on cardboard 29.5 x 21 cm