Holiday Group Exhibition
December 7 – 23, 2023
Chris Russell’s paintings explore the tension between observation of the natural world and its recreation on the painted plane. He embraces his Portland home, and its access to nature, but is constantly aware of human-imposed boundaries on the natural world. Similarly, he is engaged by the formal act of painting: mark making, rendering, spatial construction, and how these actions translate the observed experience of nature, especially the dense layers of forest that are ubiquitous in the northwest. Russell states, “I am interested in a painting that becomes an image of the process of its creation.” The painters’ marks are clearly evident, while the lush, entangled landscape imagery constantly vies for our attention.
Born in Colorado, Russell received his BFA from the California College of the Arts. His work has been exhibited in San Francisco, CA and Turin, Italy.
