Everyone has one, so everyone is interested, to a lesser or greater degree. I’m referring to the human body, surely the most important touchstone in the history of art. Artists have been depicting the figure for millennia, sometimes in exacting detail and sometimes vaguely, but always with the understanding that every viewer has a direct connection with the subject — and also a way of assessing the rendition’s accuracy.
The ongoing renaissance of classical realism means that figure drawing and painting have not been this good in North America for half a century. Though it would be easy to fill this section with examples from the classical ateliers, we have mixed it up here stylistically. Enjoy this array of approaches, and let us know which figure artists you are following these days.
1. “Desire Guides Imagination” by Robin Cole
ROBIN COLE (b. 1985), “Desire Guides Imagination,” 2018, oil on linen, 24 x 30 in., available through the artist
2. “My Very Own Star” by Marianna Foster
MARIANNA FOSTER (b. 1982), “My Very Own Star,” 2018, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in., available through the artist
3. “AJ” by Matthew Bird
MATTHEW BIRD (b. 1977), “AJ,” 2019, watercolor on paper, 15 x 22 in., available through the artist
4. “Inside Looking Out” by Palden Hamilton
PALDEN HAMILTON (b. 1980), “Inside Looking Out,” 2020, oil on aluminum composite panel, 32 x 23 in., private collection
5. “The Traveler” by Stephanie Deshpande
STEPHANIE DESHPANDE (b. 1975), “The Traveler,” 2018, oil on linen, 30 x 40 in., available through the artist
6. “Entangled” by Alexandra Manukyan
ALEXANDRA MANUKYAN (b. 1963), “Entangled,” 2020, oil on linen, 24 x 12 in., Rehs Contemporary Gallery, New York City
7. “Bugeisha” by Edi Matsumoto
EDI MATSUMOTO (b. 1964), “Bugeisha,” 2020, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in., available through the artist
8. “Subversion” by Christopher Remmers
CHRISTOPHER REMMERS (b. 1982), “Subversion,” 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in., available through the artist
9. “Sam with Miraak” by Catherine Prescott
CATHERINE PRESCOTT (b. 1944), “Sam with Miraak,” 2018, oil on canvas, 38 x 30 1/2 in., available through the artist
10. “Resurrection” by Christina Ramos
CHRISTINA RAMOS (b. 1961), “Resurrection,” 2019, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36 in., available through the artist
11. “The Kiss” by Tim Rees
TIMOTHY REES (b. 1985), “The Kiss,” 2019, oil on linen panel, 45 x 45 in., private collection
12. “Waiting for the Return” by Suzy Schultz
SUZY SCHULTZ (b. 1959), “Waiting for the Return,” 2019, watercolor on paper, 16 x 21 1/2 in., available through the artist
13. “Cheating at Solitaire” by Marc A. Duquette
MARC A. DUQUETTE (b. 1973), “Cheating at Solitaire,” 2018, oil on canvas on board, 22 x 23 in., available through the artist
14. “The Veteran” by Charles Warren Mundy
CHARLES WARREN MUNDY (b. 1945), “The Veteran,” 2018, 40 x 30 in., Vanessa Rothe Fine Art, Laguna Beach, California
15. “Sleepless” by Omalix
OMALIX (b. 1982), “Sleepless,” 2016, oil on linen, 42 x 24 in., available through 33 Contemporary’s page on artsy.net
16. “Standing Room Only” by Scott Prior
SCOTT W. PRIOR (b. 1968), “Standing Room Only,” 2020, oil on panel, 48 x 60 in., available through the artist
17. “Dancing with Unicorn” by Pavel Ouporov
PAVEL OUPOROV (b. 1966), “Dancing with Unicorn,” 2020, oil on canvas, 72 x 48 in., available through the artist
18. “It Doesn’t Melt” by Rachel Linnemeier
RACHEL LINNEMEIER (b. 1989), “It Doesn’t Melt,” 2019, oil on aluminum panel, 20 x 16 in., available through the artist
19. “Gather Your Thoughts and Let Them Go” by Riley Doyle
RILEY DOYLE (b. 1990), “Gather Your Thoughts and Let Them Go,” 2019, oil on panel, 36 x 18 in., available through 33 Contemporary’s page on artsy.net
20. “Beginnings” by Sally Strand
SALLY STRAND (b. 1954), “Beginnings,” 2017, pastel on paper, 24 x 18 in., available through the artist
21. “Under the Influence” by Doug Webb
DOUG WEBB (b. 1946), “Under the Influence,” 2020, acrylic on linen canvas, 30 x 24 in., available through 33 Contemporary’s page on artsy.net
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This is a great article. Hats off to these creative artists!