When the art establishment grew obsessed with abstraction in the mid-twentieth century, figurative abstract painting could once evoke dread and awe. While painters have always created human likenesses, critical acclaim and praise began to encourage more imaginative work. However, several media have claimed that figuration is back and as interesting as ever in the last 15 years.
Though other art genres, such as conceptual art and performance, have a reputation for being more intellectual, figurative painting, when done effectively, can be just as challenging, fascinating, and revolutionary. Even today’s most flamboyant visual form continues to entice some modern artists, who make strong arguments for why they’re working in it. Figure painting can do more than just reinterpret singular historical works of art; it can even refer to entire traditions.
Contemporary figurative painting is successful if it causes people to reconsider art history and generally held cultural beliefs. The best figurative abstract painting could also challenge our perceptions of how the body should appear in a painting—and our lives. It is the artist’s responsibility to keep working and doing whatever feels most necessary at the time to ensure that figurative paintings provoke a response from the viewer.
A figurative painter’s greatest skill is the capacity to depict an imaginative, parallel reality—the art form allows artists to indulge in the strange and unsettling as they render life off-kilter. Abraham Dayan, a well-known figurative artist, pushes the genre forward by employing unexpected materials. Each individual in Dayan’s painting reveals his narrative. It primarily expresses fresh creations, emotions, unique inventiveness, and the beauty of the universe packed with colors for viewers to envision and comprehend love. He is now a fully-fledged Canvas Oil Painting Artist and his artworks are mesmerizing. To check out his creations which I believe will make you lost into it, visit www.abrahamdayan.net.
Artist Abraham Dayan 