Body Coloring

'black images (color studies)' by olaf breuning


Swiss artist olaf breuning is well known for his eclectic range of artwork - with the 'color studies' body art the beginning of a long-term investigation.
with the human form as a canvas, the work began with an inquiry into four colors - blue, red, yellow and green - against a stark black background,
an outcome of an experiment to see how the hues would react against a dark or white backdrop. this resulted in a striking series of vividly bold pieces,
evocative of work by pollock or jasper johns.

the opus evolved to his 'marylin' series, where Breuning loosely clones the iconic features of the classic starlet marilyn monroe - again using bright, prominent painted features against an inky canvas. straying from the four-color-scheme but maintaining the same salient approach,
Breuning manages to harness his chosen medium as the silver-tongued language for his artwork. The collection acutely encompasses
Breuning's interrogation of color - generating refreshing pieces infused with abstract wit and personality.



with the human form as a canvas, the artist originally focused on four colors - blue, red, yellow and green



the work was an outcome of experimenting to see how the colors would react against a dark or white backdrop