Girl with Duck, a painting completed in 2011, commanded £2,045,000 at a Sotheby's London auction in 2015, establishing Michaël Borremans as the most expensive living painter in Belgium. Based in Ghent, he navigates a career that blends traditional influences with contemporary mediums, including photography, scenography, and film, while maintaining a membership at the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten.
Early Education and Professional Transition
Born in 1963 in Geraardsbergen, Borremans pursued formal training at the Sint-Lucasinstituut in Ghent, earning an M.F.A. in 1996. While he initially focused on photography, his professional trajectory shifted during the mid-nineties toward drawing and painting. Before achieving international recognition, he served as a teacher at the Stedelijk Secundair Kunstinstituut Gent.
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The artist's rise was facilitated by local connections in Kalken, where painter Jan Van Imschoot acquired several pieces. This relationship led to an introduction to Jan Hoet, founder of the S.M.A.K. Borremans incorporates 18th-century art techniques and references the works of Édouard Manet and Diego Velázquez, often utilizing self-produced photographs or custom sculptures as compositional foundations.
Global Exhibition History
Notable solo shows include presentations at the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where the survey Michaël Borremans: As sweet as it gets appeared in 2014. His work has also featured at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and in the 2018 Hong Kong exhibition Fire from the Sun.
Public Perception and Controversies
The artist's work has occasionally intersected with broader cultural debates. In 2022, his book As Sweet as It Gets was visible in a Balenciaga advertisement campaign, which sparked negative social media reactions linked to his painting series Fire from the Sun. The 2018 works in that series, which depict figures in scenes involving fire and blood, drew attention for their contrast between classical aesthetics and themes of potential violence.
Fast facts
- Born: 1963, Geraardsbergen, Belgium
- Education: Sint-Lucasinstituut, Ghent
- Highest auction price: £2,045,000 for Girl with Duck (2011)
- Professional memberships: Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten
- Notable awards: Vlaamse Cultuurprijs voor Beeldende Kunst (2011)
- Active roles: Painter, photographer, scenographer, and visual artist
Questions readers ask
What is the basis for Borremans' paintings?
He uses photographs he has captured himself or sculptures made to his specifications as references for his compositions.
Which museum exhibition surveyed his work from 2014 to 2015?
The survey titled Michaël Borremans: As sweet as it gets toured the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art.