The Alchemist Painting

Corné* (Cornelis Johannes) Eksteen** (b. 1973, South Africa) is a Contemporary figurative painter, renowned for his "vibrational" portraits, still lifes and landscapes that loosely relate to the Disrupted Realism painting movement. His work relies on Figurative, Abstract, Optical and Pattern Art influences in the creation of pieces that explore the subjective nature of the early 21st century psyche in the face of unprecedented technological and social transformations. Currently works are created from reference photos taken in the studio or on site. They are printed and cut into vertical or horizontal strips. Every second strip is removed from the image leaving only sections of the original image intact. This segmented image is transferred to the canvas and during the painting process each omitted strip is painted as a mirror image of the previous strip. It’s a complex process of reproducing the visible strip in the reference photo and creating a mirror image of it, while maintaining a visual connection with the following strip in the image. The result is that lines and forms in the image starts to resemble sinusoidal wave forms. Parts of the image will get changed or broken down to pattern for which patterned wrapping paper or wallpaper often serves as inspiration. Works are primarily produced alla prima. * Phonetic spelling: [ K OH R n ai ] | Pronunciation Tip: Sounds like: COR-ne | COR - rhymes with 'core' & 'more' | ne - rhymes with 'nay' & 'neigh' ** Phonetic spelling: [EH K S T IY AH N] | Pronunciation Tip: Sounds like: EX-tea-en or XTN