Anderson Fine Art Gallery | 3/21-4/21 | St. Simons Island, GA

Pure Color

New works by Christopher Groves are showcased at Anderson Fine Art Gallery.

Coming from a more classical background, oil painter Christopher Groves is continuously riding along the boundary between realism and abstraction, creating painterly, geometric landscapes imbued with vibrant color. “I have found that both realism and abstraction hold their own visual power and that hierarchy can be manipulated in order to pull the viewer from one world into another,” he says. “I start to understand things like, if representational elements are pushed stronger, the viewer seems to experience comfort, control and base location. If pushed more abstract, the viewer will tend to lean more into an emotional and self-reflecting experience. I love the ‘style-conflict’ problem and challenge of trying to solve how to get these worlds to exist within a singular canvas, organically and geometrically.”

Lost Trees, oil, 30 x 48"

This spring, Groves will be presenting new works during the solo show Pigment at Anderson Fine Art Gallery in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Within this body of work, the artist focused primarily on color theory, mark-making and style variations. Collectors will find a wide range of subject matter in both still life and landscape, from hummingbirds and potted plants to meadows and marshlands. “I wanted the freedom of not having to paint what was in front of me, but more within ‘theory’ so I could test and refine the painting and process based off my knowledge and experience, as well as educating myself deeper into each topic as I went along,” says Groves. “Exploring, combining and experimenting...”

Peach Vase, oil, 20 x 20"

He continues, “Beyond color theory, investigating the main ingredients of ‘pigment’ in painting became a beautiful and challenging struggle. The pleasure of trying to understand its capability, diversity and power through the bending and combing with a variety of mediums is why I wanted to title the show Pigment.”

Patch Work, oil, 36 x 48"

This latest body of work combines traditional linseed oil, cold-wax and oil pastels, as well as direct, raw powdered pigment. “While the colors of these pigments remain consistent, the visual representation of the color-mark varies due to the medium and where it exists within the layered painting process,” Groves eplxains. “With pigment, I also very much wanted to explore the concept of ‘optical mixing,’ the technique used by the impressionist painters. While they created the illusion of color blending by placing small brushstrokes of pure colors next to each other, in this group of paintings I am exploring more colors layered on top of each other and allowing each layer to peek [out].”