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Photorealist Paintings

PHOTOREALISM

A direct challenge to Abstract Expressionism’s subjectivity and gestural vigor, Photorealism was informed by the Pop predilection for representational imagery, popular iconography and tools, like projectors and airbrushes, borrowed from the worlds of commercial art and design.

Whether gritty or gleaming, the subject matter favored by Photorealists is instantly, if vaguely, familiar. It’s the stuff of yellowing snapshots and fugitive memories. The bland and the garish alike flicker between crystal-clear reality and dreamy illusion, inviting the viewer to contemplate a single moment rather than igniting a story.

The virtues of the “photo” in Photorealist art — infused as they are with dazzling qualities that are easily blurred in reproduction — are as elusive as they are allusive. “Much Photorealist painting has the vacuity of proportion and intent of an idiot-savant, long on look and short on personal timbre,” John Arthur wrote (rather admiringly) in the catalogue essay for Realism/Photorealism, a 1980 exhibition at the Philbrook Museum of Art, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At its best, Photorealism is a perpetually paused tug-of-war between the sacred and the profane, the general and the specific, the record and the object.

Robert Bechtle invented Photorealism, in 1963,” says veteran art dealer Louis Meisel. “He took a picture of himself in the mirror with the car outside and then painted it. That was the first one.”

The meaning of the term, which began for Meisel as “a superficial way of defining and promoting a group of painters,” evolved with time, and the core group of Photorealists slowly expanded to include younger artists who traded Rolleiflexes for 60-megapixel cameras, using advanced digital technology to create paintings that transcend the detail of conventional photographs.

On 1stDibs, the collection of Photorealist art includes work by Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack, Charles Bell and others.

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Style: Photorealist
Artist: Hilo Chen
Tulip
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen Title: Tulip Year: 1988 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated Size: 9 x 6.5 in. (22.86 x 16.51 cm) Frame: 16 x 13 inches
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Nude Woman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen, American (1942 - ) Title: MB 3 Year: 1987 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated verso Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm) Frame Size: 30 x 42 inches
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

City - 4 , 1977 Large Painting
Located in Rochester Hills, MI
Hilo Chen Painting oil on canvas 54 x 54 in 137 x 137 cm Contemporary photo-realist painter Hilo Chen (Yee-Lum) was born in 1942 in Taiwan and later became an American citizen. He is noted for his paintings of nudes and flowers. Chen's as painter is nothing less than superb. The skin tones of his nudes seem more "real" than life itself. You feel as though you can almost touch these women who are so oblivious to being observed. Chen's work is held in public collections at: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose CA...
Category

1970s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Soccer Players in Central Park
Located in Long Island City, NY
An oil painting by Hilo Chen from 1973. A photo-realistic scene of a park in midday overlooking a soccer field from a sidewalk vantage point. Signed and dated verso, framed in a natural wood frame. Artist: Hilo Chen Title: Soccer Players...
Category

1970s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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Previously Available Items
Camellia, Photorealist Painting by Hilo Chen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen Title: Camellia Year: 1989 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated verso Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm) Frame: 30 x 42 inches
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

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Oil

MB 1-2, Blonde Nude Woman, Photorealist Painting by Hilo Chen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen, American (1942 - ) Title: MB 1-2 Year: 1987 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated verso Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm)
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Blossom
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen Title: Blossom Year: 1984 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated reverse Size: 7 x 5 in. (17.78 x 12.7 cm) Frame: 9.5 x 7.5 inches
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1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Blossom
Blossom
H 9.5 in W 7.5 in
MB 1-2, Blonde Nude Woman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen, American (1942 - ) Title: MB 1-2 Year: 1987 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated verso Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm)
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Blossom 11 (Sunflower and Bee)
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hilo Chen Title: Blossom 11 (Sunflower and Bee) Year: circa 1985 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and titled verso Size: 54 x 54 in. (137.16 x 137.16 cm)
Category

1980s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Photorealist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Photorealist paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, green, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Gregory Block, James Zamora, Ian Hornak, and Kathleen Keifer. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Photorealist paintings, so small editions measuring 3.5 inches across are also available. Prices for paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $125 and tops out at $585,000, while the average work sells for $3,772.

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