Internationally celebrated artist Brian M. Viveros has an unmistakably arresting hand. His highly detailed paintings of defiant doe-eyed beauties summon a raw poetic of intractability. Beautiful and yet barbarous, they draw from the power of the feminine and its reconciliation of vulnerability, beauty, and power. His subjects are fighters and survivors, rendered immaculately, and just bloodied enough to remind us that they are formidable opponents not to be taken lightly. The artistâs hyperreal portraits deliver cult worthy heroines emerging triumphant from battle, complete with cigarettes anchored from parted lips, and tattoos and wounds to rival any soldierâs; they are steel tough victors rendered with something of the sublime. Viverosâ work elevates the iconography of the femme-fatale as a powerful emblem of strength and retaliation: insubordinate beauties undaunted by the unruliness of a messy fight.
A technical perfectionist, Brian Viverosâ oil, airbrush, acrylic, and ink paintings are highly saturated with pigment, luminosity, and depth, while the compositions are poignant and simple. The artistâs emphasis tends to be on focal points such as the eyes, lips, and skin, conveying the subtlety of minute expression and the power of an impaling gaze. The paintings feel cinematic, like haunting stills from a film, owing to their evocative suggestion of narrative and to the iconicity of their subjects. The artistâs creative cosmos is beautifully stylized, never derivative, and distinctly recognizable as his own.
