Artist Explores Identity Issues trough Series of Impressive Faceless Portraits

Image via sage_barnes/Instagram

Sage Barnes is a self-taught artist who has been recently making waves in the art world thanks to his intriguing paintings.

After dropping out of studies at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, Barnes decided to continue his artistic voyage on his own and develop a style true to himself. This resulted in distinct artworks that combine realistic, abstract and street art techniques. According to this talented U.S.-based artist, his main focus is “using contrast and representational art to directly draw out the emotions and experiences of the viewer.

Some of Barnes’ most impressive works origin from a series of paintings called “Identity” in which he explores humanity’s identity issues trough faceless portraits. In these artworks, the artist represents humans as characters who hide their face using balloons and flower bouquets or simply want to remove their true self altogether.

“The main themes are about finding our own identity and learning about how we identify with certain things in our lives.” – the artist explains. “Whether that be emotions, life experiences or other things that help us learn about ourselves, it all ties into who we are.”

Check out some of the paintings from “Identity” series below.