ABOUT THE ARTIST

BIOGRAPHY

Dirk Dzimirsky (born 1969) is a German artist who is known for his hyper-realistic drawings and paintings of people. His carefully elaborated stagings of light and shadow reveal the sensitivity and vulnerability of its models. An extreme level of detail in combination with calculated set of light create an enigmatic mood of melancholic beauty in his images.
Dzimirsky's works has been exhibited in the US, Europe and Tokyo and are part of numerous international private collections.
In 2014 he was commissioned by Waterman - Paris to draw a large scale portrait with ball pen to introduce their new line of luxury pens. The artwork was shown at exhibitions in Paris and Tokyo as well as on billboards and screens throughout the cities.
Also in 2014 Dzimirsky was hired by A&E Network for their new TV-Show „The Returned“ to design and create 4 drawings of some of the main characters, which were then used for advertising the Series.



Dzimirsky lives and works in an former school house in Warmsen, Germany.

ARTIST STATEMENT

"My artworks are done in a hyper-realistic style, which is characterized by translating photographs into drawing and paintings with extreme attention to detail and an exaggeration of reality. But for me this style is not an end in itself but only a means to an end. With the translation of a photograph into a drawing or painting I want to create additional levels

that go beyond the mere copy of the photo and which enable the viewer to experience the image in multiple perspectives. I do not strive to create the appearance of a particular person or a resemblance to the original image. Through the time consuming approach, the photographic snapshots become a representation of long human exposures. With my non-linear process and the progressing drawings developments, I find my own persona emerging within the work. Despite the attention to detail, each person in my artwork is always my own individual interpretation and a reflection of my thoughts and state of mind, so the images are in themselves self-portraits, only with a modified external appearance.

Photos are an important part of my artistic work but they are only an intermediate step. Before I take photos for a new project I already have a precise idea of how the future work should look as a drawing or painting. I setup the photographs that I then use as templates. Therefore the design and the purpose of the photos differ from those of a classic photographer.

A melancholy but also partly sentimental view pervades my images of human beings, carried by an enigmatic and often ominous mood. Through an exaggerated, surreal light setting and the emphasis on midrange values I want to create a distinct atmosphere in which my characters seem to be caught up in the artificial reality of dreams. Throughout my large scale paintings and small drawings, often the figures stare with frozen gazes at the viewer, making him feel as if he had just opened a door in a feverish dream, and where he finds himself now confronted with this implied scene."