Fernando Vicente

Fernando Vicente’s art dissects vanity, man’s struggle with mortality, and the concept of the ‘body as a lie’. It is the flawed nature of humanity that makes one beautiful, yet we are trained to strive for the banality of perfection. In response, Vicente splices the leftovers of visual culture, creating intricate, sensual and haunting montages that make the strange out of the common. In his four influential series of paintings, Anatomi´as, Atlas, Vanitas, and Venus, the artist plays with mechanics, geography, media and science to transform plastic and enforced ideals of the human form into breathtaking works of art. Fernando Vicente (b. 1963) is an artist based in Madrid, who has been exhibiting internationally since 1984. He is a frequent contributor to El País, Playboy, Gentleman and Vogue, and his work has won three Awards of Excellence from the Society for News Design. Vicente’s cult status is growing steadily – including a surprising yet significant following among tattoo aficionados – and this book showcases his most intricate, glamorous and haunting work. –