With his brilliant painting technique, Dutch artist Christiaan Lieverse is one of the winners of the international artist scene in recent years. Lieverse, whose works are causing a stir in Europe and North America, works with a variety of materials to incorporate surface texture into his paintings. Lieverse was born into a family of artists in 1971. He studied renowned artists such as Mark Rothko and Lucian Freud. He also takes the broad oeuvre of Gerhard Richter as a model. And it is exactly this artistic expression that can be found in his work when you look at his portraits. It is the combination of new technology and perfected craftsmanship that makes Lieverse's works so fascinating.

A true multi-talent

The depiction of human beings is one of the oldest motifs in the history of sculpture and painting - for example, portraits have been among the most popular images for hundreds of years. Despite the history, Christiaan Lieverse succeeds in making his portraits so up-to-date and refreshingly new that one could believe he has reinvented the genre. For it is precisely the influence of asphalt, resin, and fire that catapults the works into the 21st century In the choice of these materials, one senses that Lieverse is as much an admirer of Anselm Kiefer.

Extraordinary contrasts

Christiaan Lieverse begins his works for Atelier Lieverse by inverting the canvas. The white surface becomes the back wall and the rough texture forms the base, the strong ground. Only then is the canvas painted over with many layers of paint until a monochrome, light background is created. At the edge, the dark canvas remains visible, not only giving the painting a visual frame, but also reinforcing the harmonious impression. "I strive to find a balance between triviality and beauty, vulnerability and roughness," says Christiaan Lieverse.