Born in 1983 currently living and working between his native Cologne and Los Angeles, Mike Dargas represents a quintessential contemporary artist whose style reflects a fusion of classical technique with the aesthetics of the digital age.

Entirely self-taught, Dargas’ technical and stylistic approach to painting depicts a holistic absorption of the variety of artistic mediums and crafts that he has practiced. From composing large-scale chalk drawings as a child, to carpentry and his time as a tattooist, Dargas’ accomplished work contains elements of each medium.

In this series of works ‘Healing Beauty’, these themes come to the forefront in his exploration of fragility and the feminine aspects of identity. The composition of Dargas’ portraiture presents an underlying interest in the covering or coating of the skin or the figure, by liquid or material. The lifelike element can be seen within the pose of the sitters, often in movement, with drips suspended in time. Thus, the paintings, resemble the photographic medium capturing the ephemeral beauty. As Mike Dargas says, “My paintings are trying to catch an emotional snapshot and are trying to evoke a certain feeling to the viewer”.