ABOUT THE ARTIST
Biography
Christian is a painter and architect who has practiced in New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle. His approach to both forms and the dialogue between them has evolved across decades. Initially interested in conceptualism and twentieth century modernism, his work has quieted and focused into a sustained meditation. As a painter and naturalist he spends much his time now in solitude, walking, kayaking and painting.
Ten years ago Christian moved from Seattle to Mount Vernon in the Skagit valley of Washington State which has proven decisive in clarifying the artist's project. No longer is his gaze cast back to his mentors and the movements they inspired. The work begins now where theory and concept trail off; where words fail and the quiet power of nature reminds us of the difference between what is real and what is thought.
Though many of his paintings now reflect the intersection of land and sea, these are not paintings of existing places, but simply the sense of being alone and quiet in utter vastness.
Christian is also part owner and gallerist for Perry and Carlson Gallery in Mount Vernon.
To view or purchase work please contact Christian at: christian@perryandcarlson.com
STATEMENT
This is very simple:
to sit alone,
in a small craft hardly wider than a body,
in a perfectly still and unfathomable sea,
the horizon somehow right here
and far away,
the self finds no echo.
I’ve felt this many times
and I’ve been learning how to represent it,
in its own way,
back and forth
without words.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST
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In painting, color is always relative to it’s context and a particular hue can only come alive when immediately surrounded by another that propels it. I am most satisfied when a color, say aqua-cyan, seems almost self illuminated because of deeper colors that brighten and clarify it.
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The paintings I make are all trying to say the same thing: still yourself. Look deeply but don’t name what you feel, rather, let a painting teach you its own language. If an artist’s work is sincere, this is available within the viewing experience, but it takes a moment. The artist spent hours, maybe dozens of hours to deliver just this moment’s seeing.
MORE FROM THE ARTIST
at work
IN SITU
