PE paintings and painters / PE subject matter in art in general

[AdamLehrerImageMaker]

Painters Justin Mortimer and Phil Hale come to mind. Mortimer I've just recently became a fan of, Hale I've followed for at least a decade now. Both paint somewhat similar subject matters but have their own techniques and palette choices. I believe the two share/shared a studio at one point. Recent Mortimer is vibrant and gaudy. Hale loves his olive green and drab. Both know what the hell they're doing.

Justin Mortimer: http://justinmortimer.co.uk/2020-21.html
Phil Hale: https://jonathanlevineprojects.com/artists/phil-hale/

Personally, I think these paintings feel more industrial noise to me than PE. There's a sense of mystery with each piece that makes you wonder what the fuck is going on and the figures are often cut up or the anatomy is skewed just enough for it to be uneasy to look at. The subtly is what sells it for me. Clearly they're both skilled as traditional painters but add a heavy abstract element as well.
Digging further, Hale is lesser known for his collage work which I think is just as good as his paintings:

https://cafans.b-cdn.net/images/Category_1860/subcat_133823/Device2.jpg

(Not too much found online, sadly)
Piecing together different photos of metal objects to create something foreign yet recognizable. Items taped together in a manic manner which lends to the post apocalyptic objects he's creating.If you can track down the "Mockingbird/Relaxeder" books by him, I strongly suggest picking them up.

I typically disdain the kind of hyper-vivid hyper-realist painting style of someone like Mortimer, but his technique and color palette is truly astonishing and undeniably potent. I was intro'd to his work by a friend a few years ago and have been excited to see his work ever since.

[Hakaristi]

Igor Ruz - https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Igor+Ruz%22

Also very much enjoyed Torakka's recent zine, unique stuff (and did not let our organs touch!).

[Atrophist]

https://caritahannikainen.wordpress.com/2022/07/30/toinen-naytos/

[cr]

Thanks to Adam Lehrer's 'Safety Propaganda' platform, I learned about the paintings of Barry Burman!

Are there any books or other publications from and about this artist available?

[theotherjohn]

None to my knowledge. Trevor Brown made a blog post years ago referencing him after seeing some of his work briefly featured in Peter Webb's book The Erotic Arts. The best overview/collection of his work can be found on this drtenge.com post (and again, if no-one has visited that website before, you're missing out on one of the best online resources for PE-adjacent art).

[AdamLehrerImageMaker]

Thanks to Adam Lehrer's 'Safety Propaganda' platform, I learned about the paintings of Barry Burman!

Are there any books or other publications from and about this artist available?

There is dreadfully little art historical attention and literature paid towards him. The most I've heard his name come up is in the Hans Bellmer book penned by Peter Webb.

[cr]

Thanks for information, that's disappointing.

And thanks for mentioning Hans Bellmer, fits very well to this topic.

[Foss]

Bjarne Melgaard

While his later works has been kind of domesticated for normality, i remember sending message to some friends when his solo exhibition was up 15 years ago that this was how you could visualize power electronics. He did lots of paintings about the extreme gay sex scene, the wanting to get infected with aids stuff etc. Also injected himself and his boyfriend with steroids and doing photos of that combined with quite hard bondage stuff. Also got a lot of critique for glorifying suicide, extreme substance abuse etc etc..There has to be some digging to find his better works online as he has done a lot of more bland shit the later years but his works from 90s to i think ca 2010-1015 is great. Munch+Melgaard book is great, a documentation where his work was put in Munch context. His last good exhibition before everything went downhill to cash machine.

[post-morten]

Bjarne Melgaard

Well, an artist investigating paedophiliac themes and being deliberately vague about his intentions, shouldn't be an alien concept to listeners of e.g. Nicole 12 or BDN. He curated a much-debated exhibition in Stockholm back in -98 featuring Donald Mader's photos of naked boys. It came to an abrupt end when a group of neo-nazi skinheads stormed the venue and destroyed the "degenerate" photos. And of course the video work All Gym Queens Deserve to Die with a man sucking a baby's arm stirred up controversy all over the place. He was reported for child abuse after showing it in Stockholm in 2000 and was subsequently prosecuted, but eventually acquitted. Yes, Melgaard is complex.

[AdamLehrerImageMaker]

Bjarne Melgaard

While his later works has been kind of domesticated for normality, i remember sending message to some friends when his solo exhibition was up 15 years ago that this was how you could visualize power electronics. He did lots of paintings about the extreme gay sex scene, the wanting to get infected with aids stuff etc. Also injected himself and his boyfriend with steroids and doing photos of that combined with quite hard bondage stuff. Also got a lot of critique for glorifying suicide, extreme substance abuse etc etc..There has to be some digging to find his better works online as he has done a lot of more bland shit the later years but his works from 90s to i think ca 2010-1015 is great. Munch+Melgaard book is great, a documentation where his work was put in Munch context. His last good exhibition before everything went downhill to cash machine.

I've met Bjarne a few times when he still lived in New York, was always blown away by his ability to be on five different anabolic steroids, multiple opiodsm, meth and psychedelics at once without even seeming on edge

[host body]

Looking to buy Jukka Siikalas Seksnobyl #1 if anyone has a copy for sale.

[cr]

Just got me three books from Antoine d'Agata for personal Xmas celebrations:
Praxis, Stasis and Psychodémie.

I think all of his books are going well within this topic.

[Nil By Mouth]

Renzo Vespignani - great italian artist with a wide ammout of work. You might recognize his style from the Projekt Neue Ordnung compilations.

It's great you mentioned Vespignani, it's not so well knowed but worth it!

[Vrenndel]

I recommend Leon Golub, American painter, whose works speak for themselves, especially those about war and mercenaries. Mandatory PE art

[cr]

I think the (early) drawings of Alfred Kubin would fit very well into this topic.
Whoever is in or near Vienna in the next couple months, I think a visit at the museum should be worth it.
I myself will be there end of September. Very much looking forward to it, together with a visit to the Hannah Höch exhibition at Belvedere museum.

https://www.albertina.at/en/albertina-modern/exhibitions/alfred-kubin/