Bizarrely Flexible Wildlife Twist into Acrobatic Poses in Bruno Pontiroli’s Perspective-Bending Paintings

“Le Quintupède I” (2021), oil on wood panel, 80 x 70 centimeters. All images © Bruno Pontiroli, courtesy of Beinart Gallery, shared with permission

Kangaroos, koalas, and the venomous platypus take on peculiarly acrobatic personas in a new series of oil paintings by Bruno Pontiroli (previously). In Expression Corporelle, the French artist renders a cast of gymnast-emulating animals native to Australia, each with unusually strong appendages and flexible backs. The creatures balance on their tails and bend at perfect 90-degree angles, defying physics in favor of warped perspectives and the opportunity to see the world from a different point of view.

Expression Corporelle is on view through August 7 at Beinart Gallery in Brunswick. Pontiroli also sells prints on his site, and you can find more of his shape-shifting characters on Instagram. (via Supersonic Art)

“Psychologie Inversée II” (2021), oil on wood panel, 40 x 30 centimeters

Left: “La Queue Leu Leu I” (2021), oil on wood panel, 60 x 50 centimeters. Right: “Figure De Style I” (2021), oil on wood panel, 60 x 50 centimeters

“Le Diable Au Corps” (2021), oil on wood panel, 50 x 40 centimeters

“Figure De Style II” (2021), oil on wood panel, 60 x 50 centimeters

“Le Pieds Marin” (2022), oil on linen, 81 x 100 centimeters

Left: “Le Quintupède II” (2021), oil on wood panel, 80 x 70 centimeters. Right: “Psychologie Inversée I” (2021), oil on wood panel, 40 x 30 centimeters