Konrad Wyrebek, Olivia Palermo and her boyfriend, model Johannes Huebl 120 x90cm oil painting on canvas
Konrad Wyrebek, Olivia Palermo and her boyfriend, model Johannes Huebl 120 x90cm oil painting on canvas

'Olivia Palermo and her boyfriend Johannes Huebl', 2011, 120x90cm
47x35in oil painting
From the series 'Beauty in Petrol' this painting in oil and acrylic is
one of several works that focus on found images of celebrities or
super-rich personalities photographed alongside their model partners.
With slick, heaving paint-strokes the face of Palermo is deformed, as
if undergoing a transformation reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian
Gray. Posed for the paparazzi rather than hiding in an attic,
Palermo's hand is conjoined with what might be a designer bag, while
the texture of her clothes is expensive, luxurious; smooth. The dress
is almost wearable, could be stepped into, and the boyfriend-shaped
space is more inviting still. A hollow space of hyper-real colour,
awaiting a form to fill it, there is the sense that you could reach
out and put your hand through - touch a paradise beyond. Painted in
gradient, the silhouette suggests an ideal - though one that's almost
manufactured; an accessory.