Review of Michaël Borremans: As sweet as it gets

When the Dallas Museum of Art started promoting Michaël Borremans' exhibition, As sweet as it gets, I'd never heard of him. Initially, I wasn't very excited. The DMA seems to love contemporary art. In just the past year there have been exhibitions of Jim Hodges,  Stephen Lapthisophon, Isa Genzken, and a show of recent additions to the contemporary collection. I'm not a particular fan of most contemporary art. I'm not one of those "it's not art" types; I just don't care for it. Especially the work of Tracey Emin. Ugh.

Anyway, here's a show of a living artist of whom I'd never heard. And to promote the show, the DMA used Borremans' The Devil's Dress, as seen below:

So, here's a rather strange image of a naked man lying supine in what appears to be an enormous lampshade or a painted cardboard sheet. I wasn't sure if it was a painting or a photograph or some performance art. Was he a surrealist? I just didn't know. I prefer the art of the 18th and 19th centuries, so I think my initial apprehension can be forgiven. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? So, while I was traversing between one hospital and another (clinical research is my day job), I decided to take a long lunch and check out what Mr. Borremans has been doing in his studio.

My thought was that by checking out the exhibit early on a Tuesday afternoon, I'd be able to view the art without having to jockey for position while desperately trying to avoid physical contact with strangers. When I arrived, the museum was packed with teenagers wearing what I guess passed for business attire. It was really surreal. Like very tall children wearing their parents' oversized clothes. Anyway, I digress. The exhibit wasn't crowded at all.

I guess I should take a break and explain how I view art exhibitions. Lots of people will move slowly through a gallery and ponder each piece individually. I believe this is an egregious mistake. If you do that, by the time you reach the end, you've become saturated. A piece that may speak volumes to you on its own now has to compete with everything you've seen before. I will make a quick survey of the entire exhibition, making a mental note of what I find immediately striking. After I've seen everything in the show, I'll make a second trip through, spending much more time with the works that moved me in some way. Now, on to the show...

As I walked in, I was immediately greeted by The Avoider:

This is a monumental painting (almost 12'X6') of what appears to be a Mediterranean beachcomber. I was initially struck by the size, but I was also taken in by the subject's rather bohemian look. Not a care in the world, this chap. And check out his walking stick. Borremans has changed the stick from a straight shaft into a branch, reminiscent of a blackthorn walking stick used in Ireland to ward off malicious spirits. But what's interesting is that Borremans barely made an effort to hide this pentimento. 

I made my way through the exhibit, pausing from time to time to look at a piece. I was struck by how so few of the pieces were framed. Almost all of the paintings were displayed as a naked canvas and stretcher. And what works weren't naked employed the most minimalist of frames. But it worked to highlight the sense of nakedness that one detects from Borremans' work.

About halfway through the exhibit, I happened across another striking piece. This one is simply titled Angel:

It initially struck me because I saw a similarity with one of my favorite paintings, Whistler's Symphony in White No. 1:

This didn't surprise me much as I'd read that Borremans counts many 19th century masters (Manet, Courbet, &c.) as influences. However, upon closer inspection, I found Angel to be downright creepy. Look back to the complete view of Angel. What do you see? A woman with a darkened face? Maybe. But look at the arms. Those aren't dainty and delicate arms, but they're not necessarily a man's arms, either. Like the biblical angels, this creature is vaguely sexless.

Now let's look at a detail of the darkened face.

What's going on there? The face is so dark that I can hardly make out any facial features. Is it slathered with oil? Is that a well-tailored bronze mask? Hell, I don't know. What I do know is that the figure makes me uncomfortable and I love it.

While these are the two pieces that really grabbed me and gave me a deep appreciation for Borremans' work, I didn't revisit many of the other pieces except for one moderately sized canvas titled Swingers.

It's a highly impressionistic piece showing...well, I'm not quite sure. It looks as those people are wearing their Sunday best to stand on boards floating in murky water. I'm not sure what about this work caught my attention, but it did. I guess it's just the overall gloomy moodiness of it. I tend to like gloomy, moody art.

Anyway, As sweet as it gets is well worth your time if you're within driving distance of Dallas. And if you're not, you should check out Michaël Borremans. I went in with apprehension and came out knowing that I'll be visiting this exhibition again very soon. This is apparently his first major show in the United States, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear much more from him in the future.

The exhibit is running from March 15 - July 5, 2015. Check it out!