Christopher Russell November 21, 2020 - January 16, 2021

Christopher Russell

November 21, 2020 - January 16, 2021

Christopher Russell's art engages historical notions of landscape yet he does so with a decidedly contemporary approach. Each work is unique and combines color photography and drawing. Based in the Pacific Northwest and inspired by Carleton Watkins' photographs of the American West 150 years ago, Russell's images both extend the tradition of landscape photography and challenge the viewer's perception of the medium. These images of hazy color are manipulated by the artist scratching into the surface of the print with a razor. The drawings add detail back into the consciously obscured photographic image. In some cases, he draws abstract forms made with small markings that represent the half-tone patterns of photomechanical reproduction. With others, Russell draws historical plant and floral patterns, essentially layering stylized images of nature over the original photographic image. Though he pushes conceptual and art historical boundaries, Russell remains a Romantic and his artwork invites the viewer to experience the wonder that he has found, and that continues to inspire him.

Christopher Russell was born in Sacramento in 1974 and received a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts and an MFA from the Art Center College of Design. Russell's work was the subject of a solo exhibit at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and his work has been featured in group exhibitions at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Norton Simon Museum, among others. His work is included in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Norton Museum of Art, among many others.