At first glance, Tos Kostermans’ Bold and Beautiful series might look like a provocative magazine spread or an equally odd cousin of David LaChapelle’s stylized celebrity photos. In fact, these are hyperrealistic paintings, depicting familiar faces in unsettling situations. We see Scarlett Johansson in lingerie and heels with a gun pointed at her and a chiseled male torso in the background. Keith Richards strums his guitar on a fancy hotel bed, while a grotesquely wrinkled elderly woman (no doubt meant to echo his own leathery face) smokes a cigarette. A robed and turbaned Jack Nicholson laughingly leers at a scantily clad dancer. Everyone from Paris Hilton to Tiger Woods to Zach Galifianakis to Muammar el-Qaddafi makes an appearance; uncomfortable juxtapositions of youth and beauty with age and ugliness are themes, as are the exchange of money in sexualized situations. Page through our favorites from Bold and the Beautiful after the jump, then check out more of Kostermans’ work at Behance.
Image credit: Tos Kostermans [Spotted via BLDGWLF]
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans
Image credit: Tos Kostermans