Chris Hopewell
Chris Hopewell @christopher_hopewell
My practice is process driven, applying gestural marks, tones and textures over consecutive layers to create abstracted environments and landscapes in which ‘animistic forms’ are shaped and placed through chance recognition. The layers are spontaneous and inform the direction of the next application. The process typically combines autographic gestures (spontaneous marks with intention) to create the initial composition, followed by a graffiti application that is random and destructive in nature to deliberately obliterate and partially obscure the intent of the preceding outcome. This combination may be repeated several times throughout the course of a painting often resulting in a picture with obscured content that is illogical. I liken this to a form of deconstructive editing. Through this evolution, irregular connections with shapes, shadows, space and movement begin to appear through an observed free association. These are gleaned and honed from the chaos into a final asymmetric design that is constantly moving the eye through the composition. This energy manifests a life within the forms, enticing a discovery to decode their presence inside their spatial environments. This idea initially evolved by incorporating painted layers over photographic collage, inspired through observing the textured surfaces and graffiti over the subway billboards while I lived in New York.
In the last stage an application of black resin is applied to enhance a found form or obscure and blanket part of the composition similar to an eclipse. An eclipse is mysterious because it covers something that still exists, provoking an imagined presence through absence. This phenomenon enhances part of a primitive spiritual energy I strive towards within the forms. The highly reflective layer of resin also provides an interactive surface connecting subconsciously with other parts underneath. My work alludes to notations of recorded time and history, pulling the focus from the earlier under layers back out through the forms to the reflections in black. By having limited focal points in combination with the moving reflections, the composition changes constantly, echoing the idea of randomness ever present in the world around us.
Chris Hopewell @christopher_hopewell
My practice is process driven, applying gestural marks, tones and textures over consecutive layers to create abstracted environments and landscapes in which ‘animistic forms’ are shaped and placed through chance recognition. The layers are spontaneous and inform the direction of the next application. The process typically combines autographic gestures (spontaneous marks with intention) to create the initial composition, followed by a graffiti application that is random and destructive in nature to deliberately obliterate and partially obscure the intent of the preceding outcome. This combination may be repeated several times throughout the course of a painting often resulting in a picture with obscured content that is illogical. I liken this to a form of deconstructive editing. Through this evolution, irregular connections with shapes, shadows, space and movement begin to appear through an observed free association. These are gleaned and honed from the chaos into a final asymmetric design that is constantly moving the eye through the composition. This energy manifests a life within the forms, enticing a discovery to decode their presence inside their spatial environments. This idea initially evolved by incorporating painted layers over photographic collage, inspired through observing the textured surfaces and graffiti over the subway billboards while I lived in New York.
In the last stage an application of black resin is applied to enhance a found form or obscure and blanket part of the composition similar to an eclipse. An eclipse is mysterious because it covers something that still exists, provoking an imagined presence through absence. This phenomenon enhances part of a primitive spiritual energy I strive towards within the forms. The highly reflective layer of resin also provides an interactive surface connecting subconsciously with other parts underneath. My work alludes to notations of recorded time and history, pulling the focus from the earlier under layers back out through the forms to the reflections in black. By having limited focal points in combination with the moving reflections, the composition changes constantly, echoing the idea of randomness ever present in the world around us.
Chris Hopewell @christopher_hopewell
My practice is process driven, applying gestural marks, tones and textures over consecutive layers to create abstracted environments and landscapes in which ‘animistic forms’ are shaped and placed through chance recognition. The layers are spontaneous and inform the direction of the next application. The process typically combines autographic gestures (spontaneous marks with intention) to create the initial composition, followed by a graffiti application that is random and destructive in nature to deliberately obliterate and partially obscure the intent of the preceding outcome. This combination may be repeated several times throughout the course of a painting often resulting in a picture with obscured content that is illogical. I liken this to a form of deconstructive editing. Through this evolution, irregular connections with shapes, shadows, space and movement begin to appear through an observed free association. These are gleaned and honed from the chaos into a final asymmetric design that is constantly moving the eye through the composition. This energy manifests a life within the forms, enticing a discovery to decode their presence inside their spatial environments. This idea initially evolved by incorporating painted layers over photographic collage, inspired through observing the textured surfaces and graffiti over the subway billboards while I lived in New York.
In the last stage an application of black resin is applied to enhance a found form or obscure and blanket part of the composition similar to an eclipse. An eclipse is mysterious because it covers something that still exists, provoking an imagined presence through absence. This phenomenon enhances part of a primitive spiritual energy I strive towards within the forms. The highly reflective layer of resin also provides an interactive surface connecting subconsciously with other parts underneath. My work alludes to notations of recorded time and history, pulling the focus from the earlier under layers back out through the forms to the reflections in black. By having limited focal points in combination with the moving reflections, the composition changes constantly, echoing the idea of randomness ever present in the world around us.