robin eley: hyper-realisitic painting series, 'idolatry'

robin eley: hyper-realisitic painting series, ‘idolatry’

contemporary realist robin eley has composed a series oil paintings titled ‘idolatry’. his images beg the audience to take a closer look, as each and every detail — from the creases in the plastic texture to individual strands of hair — seamlessly mimic reality as if they are high-quality photographs. on show at the hill smith gallery in adelaide australia until july 6th, in this second solo exhibition, eley explores societal relationships with material items and aims to expose our frantic devotion to things, which has developed into something of a religious experience. the artist communicates his ideas about physical consumption, and how society’s adoration for materials has become our way to mask external anxieties.

‘immersion’ oil on belgian linen

eley estimates that his paintings take between 2 and 8 weeks to complete, depending on size. his process is lengthy and complex: it includes numerous sketches and thumbnails working out the composition of the piece, photographing his subject, and arranging the photo elements on the computer, before eventually transferring the image to his canvas and painting it.

 
‘presence’ oil on belgian linen

 
eley estimates that ‘veneration’ took about 500 hours to complete

‘processional’ oil on belgian linen

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