Layered Portraiture

The Moon comprises carefully considered portraits featuring delicate white objects. Glasses of milk, shards of glass, pearls and china cups line up on crinkled tablecloths through quiet, meditative realism. Muted studio settings enhance the purity and simplicity of the compositions; figures emerge from the darkness through clean, silvery light. By contrast, The Unknown is a series defined by expression and spontaneity. Moving into regal tones of reds, greens, black and golds, each character sits or stands as if posing for a large-scale oil painting. Combining analogue and digital, each of the photographs is then layered with coarse brushstrokes that seize the focal point, cutting across the faces like fine art pixilation. Andrea Torres Balaguer (b. 1990) has exhibited widely, including having presentations at Paris Photo, Art Madrid, London Art Fair and the Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House, London. www.andreatorresbalaguer.com.

Lead image: Andrea Torres Balaguer, white pearl, from the series moon. Courtesy of the artist.