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Post by commandax on Sept 1, 2008 9:41:48 GMT -8
Dutch artist Chris Berens paints visions of his internal universe as if he sees it through an ancient handmade lens which warps and obscures his view of that curious place in unpredictable ways. His kaleidoscopic mirror world, inhabited by an exotic menagerie of beasts, mysterious Madonnas and lost children, is richly represented with color palettes, environments and themes reminiscent of Golden Age Dutch painters like Jan Vermeer and Rembrandt, yet its overall effect is vaguely disturbing, in the manner of Rosamund Wolff Purcell and the Brothers Quay. Despite appearances, Berens' work is completely hand painted – there are no digital or photographic elements in his paintings. For more on Chris Berens, you can check out my latest blog entry: commandax.blogspot.com/2008/08/chris-berens-luminous-visions.htmlOr his website: www.chrisberens.com/Berens will be showing at Roq la Rue in December. "First Snow (Guide Me Home)"  "Just Above the Well (Birth Day)"  "On a Midnight Voyage"  "Beast"  "In the Waitingline"  "Circle of Friends"  |
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yolao
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Post by yolao on Sept 1, 2008 9:52:37 GMT -8
aaaaaaaaaah!!
i love you and hate you at the same time for posting it ;D !!
i thought that Chris was my best kept secret!!
have you got something already from him, or waiting Roq ??
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Post by commandax on Sept 1, 2008 10:17:52 GMT -8
Waiting, with bated breath... I guess I could've kept him our little secret, but that wouldn't really be fair to the artist, would it? Anyway, I'm sure you're already on the list.  |
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yolao
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Post by yolao on Sept 1, 2008 10:21:08 GMT -8
Waiting, with bated breath... I guess I could've kept him our little secret, but that wouldn't really be fair to the artist, would it? Anyway, I'm sure you're already on the list. ehehehe, actually im "already" working on a different way.....  shhhhhhh!! |
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Post by roqlarue on Sept 1, 2008 11:51:48 GMT -8
Thanks for writing this and posting it, Commandax. I just got back from Amsterdam where we did an interview with Chris and filmed him talking about his incredible technique (when we get it edited we will post it).
If you like his older work- wait until you see the new show- it's his best work to date. I'm beyond thrilled for his show in December.
I don't think Chris will remain a secret much longer....
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Post by commandax on Sept 1, 2008 12:27:37 GMT -8
Ah, I see... must be another piece for your Snowllection! ;D
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Post by sleepboy on Sept 2, 2008 1:09:05 GMT -8
wow, some wonderful stuff. some of his stuff seems a little out of focus which might be easy to do if it was a photograph but must be really hard for a painting... add me to the list  |
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Post by rhinomilk on Sept 2, 2008 10:22:37 GMT -8
i bought one of the books from jaski (the deluxe one w/ a mini painting) which shows and describes his process and i still scratch my head as to exactly what he does
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Post by thewalrus on Sept 5, 2008 8:09:16 GMT -8
I'm fully stoked for this show!
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Post by devours on Nov 2, 2008 15:57:33 GMT -8
Will be an amazing show - 3 new giclee's are for sale - really bites about the euro though  |
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Post by roqlarue on Nov 13, 2008 15:34:42 GMT -8
Just thought I'd post a teaser from the upcoming show that opens December 12th... This is a painting from the upcoming show at the gallery...  |
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ill
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Post by ill on Nov 13, 2008 16:21:46 GMT -8
Beautiful Kirstin!
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kimmy
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Post by kimmy on Nov 13, 2008 17:27:56 GMT -8
Thanks for posting the preview! There is a great article about Chris in this months Hi-Fructose Magazine. It explains his painstaking process a little more and you can see some of the many layers.
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Post by Bytor on Nov 13, 2008 19:57:06 GMT -8
The piece are very dream like, I know this is going to sound nuts, but reminds me of some of the music videos that Tool has, where these people look surreal and they are blurry in places so you can never really make the whole figure out.
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Post by devours on Nov 13, 2008 23:01:54 GMT -8
Love his work, the show will be amazing. Hopefully will be able to pick up something. |
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ill
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Post by ill on Nov 14, 2008 22:27:41 GMT -8
 William-Adolphe Bouguereau - Innocence  Chris Berens - Heaven on their minds |
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Post by sleepboy on Nov 14, 2008 22:52:49 GMT -8
Ooh, that's kinda cool ill.
Did you catch that yourself?
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Post by devours on Nov 14, 2008 23:00:34 GMT -8
Wow, with the 2 pictures together, the middle section of the woman looks exactly like the original. The hands and tiny feet are exact. Heaven is still a beautiful lithograph though.
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Post by commandax on Nov 14, 2008 23:29:51 GMT -8
I've always latched onto the lion-and-the-lamb aspect of this one... I never noticed the baby feet until I was comparing it to the Bouguereau. I wonder why he left them in? To emphasize that the lion is the Christ child? Hmmm.
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Post by lowpro on Nov 15, 2008 0:43:23 GMT -8
I really wish I were able to see his upcoming pieces at Roq in person. As much as I'm intrigued by his process and think I like his work, I imagine it's the type of stuff that must be seen up close and personal to truly appreciate. Totally scary and beautiful at the same time. It has those foreign yet familiar, hazy yet defined, and vague yet purposeful feelings only experienced in the bizarre concoctions of the subconscious during a dream. Looking forward to seeing some real pictures of his paintings from the show.
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ill
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Post by ill on Nov 15, 2008 17:01:49 GMT -8
Ooh, that's kinda cool ill. Did you catch that yourself? Yeah.. I was educating myself on some art history and happened to stumble across that. It didn't take me long to remember where I'd seen that before. I love how Chris has taken that image though and twisted it in to something entirely different while keeping the focal point of the image very similar. |
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Post by roqlarue on Nov 21, 2008 19:12:53 GMT -8
I just wanted to note that part two of the Chris Berens interview we did is up on the HF site...it's super short but Chris talks a little more about some of his inspirations, and I found it kind of moving. www.hifructose.com/ |
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Post by devours on Nov 22, 2008 17:29:49 GMT -8
Thanks K, that was cool. |
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Post by roqlarue on Nov 23, 2008 11:24:46 GMT -8
Another new image from the upcoming show...  |
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ill
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Post by ill on Nov 23, 2008 11:26:56 GMT -8
Wow.
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