'time machine mirror' series
these paintings depict nostalgic images of vintage television
sets displaying a variety of familiar imagery. each television
and its content bear similarities to one another connoting
the themes of their time. in the works, the sets are
transformed from their normal role, as a delivery mechanism,
into the subject itself. they are featured as both a group,
competing for our attention, and individually, holding it alone.
the artist proceeds to mock and thus deconstruct the television
as a symbol.

the retro TV sets include iconic designs from all over the
world. the approach of van den besselaar echoes that of
airbrushed advertisiments used to promote the TV’s arrival
in society.

'heroes’ series
the series is comprised of three separate parts:
'superheroes', 'forgotten terrorists' and 'larger than life'.
the collection uses images of iconic faces popularized
by the media.

'superheros'
places notable comic book heroes on the canvas;
their histories are brought to mind, making us question
the reality of their worlds. they simultaneously live in
reality and an alternate world that appears the same
as ours on many levels.

'forgotten terrorists'
uses the imagery of notorious forgotten terrorists.
they are drawn in black and white, in a way that makes
them appear like faded photographs. their facial
expressions give us a different impression than our
common understanding of their personalities.

'larger than life'
depicts a series of dead heroes in small and delicate
pencil on paper portraits. these heros are real, unlike the
'superheros' series, but similar in their larger than life
personas. just like the other two parts of the series,
our understanding of them is based, not on firsthand
knowledge, but their portrayal in the media.

'lethal chambers' series
the final series to be exhibited, is a collection of interior
still lives showing a series of empty execution rooms.
the death bed in each is oddly illuminated, giving off a
peaceful and somewhat heavenly glow.

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about the artist
michael van den besselaar was born in brunssum,
the netherlands, in 1965. he graduated from the
royal academy of fine arts, the hague, in the netherlands
in 1988. he is the recipient of several prestigious awards,
such as the haagse salon publics prize, the grant
startstipendium and the karel klinkenberg prize.
van den besselaar’s work is in major private and public
collections, such as the museum of modern art, the
museum boijmans van beuningen and others.
he currently lives and works in paris.

http://www.besselaar.com