Santa Fe- Chiaroscuro is pleased to present, Stratum, the latest body of work by Southern California based painter Chris Richter, on view from July 3 – August 1, 2020. The artist’s reception is, Saturday, July 4, 1-5 pm, observing COVID-safe practices including, social distancing and masks required for entry into the gallery.
As Chris Richter’s abstract paintings evolve, his latest body of work focuses on investigations into light and color. Richter’s work has always centered on an abstract interpretation of landscape; ocean rocks, wispy leaves, agave plants and eucalyptus bark. With Stratum, he dives deeper into the color relationships between warm and cool, light and dark, in the context of each individual color’s absorption and reflection qualities. Many of the pieces end up predominantly white or black, with exquisite details of contrasting color breaking through the surface. These relationships and contrasts coexist and bring life to the paintings. Influenced by the Light and Space movement in Southern California in the 1960s, which embodied the perceptual phenomena of light, Richter uses light as a source of inspiration. He explains, “Light brings color and insight to all things. Light gives life to darkness and as light grows, the colors and depths are enhanced and seen. When the light fades, colors shift towards dark, eventually to black.”
Much of Richter’s daily work revolves around his process of applying and sanding away layers of paint. Richter explains, “My studio practice remains instinctively in place, building each painting into its own with layer upon layer of color, then with an intuitive hand and reductive eye, sanding back into the surface revealing the layers of color below.”
This is Chris Richter’s fourth solo exhibition at Chiaroscuro. Richter’s career started with representational landscape oil paintings, in the early 2000’s, before his nature based imagery and ideas moved into abstraction in 2012. With this current exhibition, his exploration of landscape inspired themes of color, light and form, continue to evolve deeper into abstract painting.
Chris Richter: Stratum
July 3 – August 1, 2020 Artist’s Reception: Saturday, July 4, 1-5pm
Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art 558 Canyon Road Santa Fe NM 87501, 505-992-0711