Line Theory #9 and #10

Christopher Baer | May 12th | New Paintings

Christopher Baer | Paintings New large-format oils from the Palisades, Line Theory and White on White series.

Opening: Saturday, May 12^th | 6 - 10pm

Kindly hosted by Marjorie Clifton and Eric Greenwald 

Logan Circle
Washington DC

Please RSVP to www.christopherbaer.com/contact

Wine provided complementary by Maysie Cellars, Mendocino County, CA

Line Theory #7

New Site Launch

Launching a redesigned website is energizing.  The design is more stripped down than the previous version and helps the art pop out more.

http://christopherbaer.com

Lines

A bunch of these are appearing now.  They really come out as eye candy on a wall.  I'm hooked.

Line Theory

I have been working on series called Palisades for some time now, which has been an exploration of styles on the 60 x50 format canvas.  Line Theory is an off-shoot of that series that is being made into its own series.

The lines have vibrant color relationships and speed; other artifacts show through the lines.  These are 20 x 20.

Goofy Dinosaur

This buck-toothed doggy is all saddled up and ready to thunder across the plains. Giddyup!

I love kid's art.

Palisades 30 & 31

These works are taking a new direction. I have always liked lines in abstract work; these push the lines to the front.  #31 is sold.

Palisades Series Works

Recent work completed in July, 2011.

White on White

I could spend a decade fooling around with white.  It has a dignified and transparent quality that both masks and reveals at the same time.

100

Learning to count to 100.  Nice arrangement.

Marilyn

I snapped this image in the bathroom of a bar in Brooklyn not long ago.  Why this image works, I don't know.

Moss

This image was shot last weekend in Virginia.  I love moss.

Key

I did a freshman project at RISD with another student named Margot. The project involved stringing 4 stories of florescent lights inside the Waterman Building incinerator shaft, at the base of which was a furnace where refuse was probably burned. It had been out of commission for a long time.  It was filthy.

The project was in most respects perilous, over-ambitious and ill-planned  --all of which were my personal hallmarks at the time. Still, the outcome was fantastic: the effect was a seemingly endless secret column of light in the darkness.  During the critique with our entire class and professor, Jack Massey, the project collapsed into a shower of sparks, shards of glass, and clanging metal. Somehow, no one was injured.

Anyway, while I was examining in the empty furnace, which was large enough for several students to stand in, I found this key and cleaned it off.  It looked old and well-crafted.

Then I inspected it and noticed a nice design feature that indicated the room to which it went.  Cool.

                     

It has been on a shelf in my studio ever since as a memento.

Copper Bowl

My friend Rebecca produced this copper bowl at RISD as requirement for the Jewelry & Light Metal curriculum.  I still enjoy looking at it and holding it all the time in my studio.

Graffiti

I saw this in Italy.

I Want One

Get your motor running...

Simplicity or Complexity

This is some gravel in the driveway of a friend in Italy.

So is this simple or complex?  You have 7 seconds.

Are You Receiving?

Roger, Houston.  We copy.

Durban

I painted Durban in 2006.  It is not large but still reaches me each time I view it, which is about once per year.

Keeping an Eye on Things

I snapped this image last Summer (2010) in Baltimore on a busy street corner. In addition to there being three separate cameras and two flashes, it is sculptural and tree-like.

Shoes from way back

This is an image from my sketchbook in the late nineties when shoe design was getting crazy.  This was an "approach shoe" (or something) in my friend, Josh's ridiculously large collection of sneakers and footwear.  The design is not outrageous by today's standards, but at the time mainstream footwear was just starting to explore these shapes and lines.

Palisades #20 | Sold

I am happy to report that Palisades #20 sold recently to a buyer in Richmond, VA.

Farm Time Lapse

I posted a camera that automatically takes a picture when it senses movement. I stitched the last round of images into a quick movie. Check out how much the barn changes in the light at different times of the day, the flowers move, and people show up now and then.  Beautiful in its subtlety.

Opening at Living | Richmond, VA

Last night's opening at Living was hosted by the owner, Martee Johnson, and Wizzie Broach who sells my work in Virginia.  --My heartfelt thanks to you both for setting everything up, as well as Rita Liles who seems to know just about everyone in Richmond.

Martee Johnson, Mallory Decker, Wizzie Broach & Rita Liles

See more pictures of the work at the show and of the people who attended.
Learn more about Living on Grove.

For more information about the artwork and the artist:

christopherbaerart.blogspot.com

christopherbaer.com

Cleaned Out

As I prepared and shipped out the work from the upcoming Richmond show, Rita, the stick-of-dynamite-of-a-mom-of-my-VA-art-dealer (Wizzie Broach) walked through my house surveying the walls, "Did you paint that? Can we show it?  And what about that one?"

Liz, my wife, was shadowing me and encouraging me to loosen up, "Remember when you said you should let art get out into the world?  Let her take that one, and that one."

"Well, sure...take it right off the wall," I said.   Me in my own mind:  "Oh what the heck... I love those pieces, but it's time that they made their own way in this world; they've had it too easy at home."

So Rita left the studio with more work than I anticipated, my house is now bare again, and the opening this Thursday will be strong.  I look forward to seeing you all there.  Here was one of the works added to the show (thank you Susannah & John).

Richmond Show | Thursday Nov 18th

Here are a couple of the pieces of work being shown next week in Richmond at Living on Grove (the show opens on Thursday November 18th at 5pm).  The work varies in size from 12 x 12 to 50 x 60 inches.

To view the entire collection pieces in the show, click here.

For more details about the show's opening, click here.

If you are in the Richmond area, please join me for the opening.  Liz and I will be there.

Studio Details

These paintings about 1/3 complete.  There are about 2-3 more washes of paint to apply.



In the past 3 years I have been painting almost exclusively in larger formats (50 x 60 inches). Working smaller seems like it would be simpler, but with less room to spread out, the decision-making process feels tighter.

Recent Paintings

These works will be in the upcoming show in Richmond opening on November 18th. For more information on the show and it's location, see Living on Grove.

Painting | Process

There are about 6-8 more paintings to complete in a very short period of time before my next show. Working under pressure yields results.

My recent works, say the last 15 paintings, are as much about the process of creating them as they are about the content, color and form. In particular, the larger paintings have many layers of translucent color.

These painting give viewers several different experiences when looking in the same area. The longer you look, the more there is to see, but it is not assertive.  At first glance, the people may look and think “that painting is mostly yellow,” which is generally true at a glance, and then underneath as people examine the layers, lines and marks and hidden color fields emerge also, so do shapes of under-painting that create resonance and contrast.  Artifacts and history of the painting show through and tell its story.

And if you don’t want to examine, you can relax with what’s presented at the surface --both are relevant. Though no metaphor is actually intended, it is similar to how I look at life.

Richmond Show | Thursday Nov 18th

On November 18th, I will show about 15-16 new paintings at Living on Grove in Richmond.  Many thanks to Elizabeth Broach (my VA agent) for organizing the show and selling my work faster than I can create it.  More images of the work will be completed closer to the date.

Christopher Baer | Recent Paintings

@ Living on Grove | Thursday Nov 18th | 5-7pm

5714 Grove Avenue

Richmond, VA 23226

804-285-5600

For images from the last show in 2006, go to Christopherbaer.com


If you are in Richmond, Living on Grove is here:

I love Richmond, Virginia.

In 1994, I was invited to a state-sponsored scholarship program called the Governor's School for the Arts held during the summer at the University of Richmond. It was life changing, but at the conclusion of the program, I confidently declared that I would not be pursuing art as a career --I don't recall the rationale. I was 16 years old and not surprisingly, I have been wrong a few other times since then.