Christian Vincent's surreal paintings draw on feelings of whimsy and melancholy as he explores the functions of memory and dynamics of conformity. His oil paintings capture a sense of innocence and uncertainty as his subjects, often youthful, exist in insolation close to the boundaries of society.
Born 1966 in Santa Monica, California, Christian Vincent studied at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in 1989. In 1991 he opened his first solo exhibition at Louis Newman Gallery in Los Angeles, California and has continued to show in group and solo exhibitions since. Vincent has been recognized across the United States with solo exhibitions at galleries including Louis Newman Gallery in Los Angeles (1991), Forum Gallery in New York starting in 1992, Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago and Fay Gold Gallery in Atlanta (1996), and Mike Weiss Gallery in New York (2008). Vincent has also participated widely in group exhibitions including at Miami Dade Community College (1998), Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock (2001), Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington (2001), Susquehanna Art Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2004), Naples Art Museum in Florida (2005), Max Weiss Gallery in New York (2011) and at Art Miami (2016). He has also been recognized internationally with exhibitions at Ars Vivendi Gallery in Munich, Germany, VOLTA Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland, and Contemporary Istanbul. Vincent's work can be found in the permanent collections of Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and Hunter Museum of American Art as well as the corporate collections of Jones, Day, Reaves and Pogue and Cocksy, both in Los Angeles. Vincent was the recipient of the 1st Julius Hallgarten Prize at the 169th Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design in 1994 and in 1998, Vincent was commissioned to create a work for the United States of America NASA Art Program.
Christian Vincent, is a painter known for large scale oil painting often depicting haunting, enigmatic imagery rooted in feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. While Vincent's early work drew on his lived experiences and was characterized by rich dark colors and Chiaroscuro reminiscent of the Renaissance, his recent work has evolved into a soft surrealism exploring cultural, historical and mythological symbolism. Combining commentary related to the post-industrial world with observations about his personal experience, Vincent's canvases are immersive, ethereal evocations of the dynamics of conformity and desire. His strong compositions feel melancholic and evoke a sense of isolation, often featuring youthful figures on the verge of adulthood, their innocence confronting the compromises of modern life. His boldly colored, immersive canvases operate at multiple levels, pulsing with the subtlety of life's passages as they invite viewers to step inside and build their own stories.