![]() ![]() Like British painters before him, Yeo’s work embodies the traditional skill set of observation, execution and technique, and in the same way as the School of London did Yeo also became aware of the importance of addressing contemporary concerns and portraying this information through the process of paint. His early subjects were painted with stylistic imitation of the Vorticist period, this however was conveyance only, as the subjects were used to both explore art history and the genre of portraiture. Yeo’s knowledge of art history is evident in the chronology of his painting. The appropriate personality to use as subject is decisive and Yeo uses them as a vehicle to explore the study of physiognomy, whilst simultaneously tackling often complex narratives and ongoing themes. Content ranges from how we consume and discuss imagery, the modern day obsession of social media, actor’s in character, the pervasiveness of pornography, cosmetic surgery and societal portraiture. His career as a painter has seen him confront a multitude of different narratives and themes. Yeo has emerged as one of the foremost pioneers of figurative painting in Britain. In Yeo’s twenty-five year career he has exhibited widely in Europe, North America and East Asia and in 2016 he collaborated with The Museum of National History at Frederiksborg, in Denmark, resulting in Yeo’s largest retrospective to date. The exhibition then toured in 2014 to the Lowry in Salford and the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. His 2013 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London was acclaimed by the critics and public alike, and was accompanied by a major monograph and a BBC1 Culture Show special. ![]() He has painted and worked with iconic and celebrated figures including actors Kevin Spacey, Dennis Hopper and model-turned-actor Cara Delevingne, artists Damien Hirst and Grayson Perry, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, peace activist Malala Yousafzai and has produced official commissions of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. London, 18 December 1970) is one of the world’s leading portrait artists. More of Yeo’s work can be seen on his website.British artistJonathan Yeo (b. Keats said “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”… but what of chasing after elusive standards of beauty? Awesome work. Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou sayst, When old age shall this generation waste, …the works are at once peaceful and grotesque. …Western culture is obsessed with normalizing the body to fit into a mold deemed more attractive or more “correct.” British artist Jonathan Yeo uses his talent for photorealistic portraiture to explore the way that people subject themselves to plastic surgery in an effort to chase eternal youth and beauty. Either way, I love these paintings oh so very much. Maybe it’s an update to the momento mori tradition in Renaissance art. Maybe he’s addressing the superficiality of beauty culture, maybe it’s meant as a more Buddhist “live in the now” statement. I love how he paints skin, and how the paintings remain unfinished, reminding us constantly that these faces and bodies are really just images, perhaps meant to remind us of the transience of our own self-images. Hi-Fructose wrote about Yeo recently (well, today) and I was absolutely floored (in a good way) by these exquisite surfaces – and poignant subject matter. ![]() Just a caveat for those of you in mixed company, many of the paintings involve waist-up nudity. Jonathan Yeo is British artist that makes, among other things, fantastic paintings dealing with plastic surgery.
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