Having both the German and Costa-Rican nationalities, he says Barcelona felt like the right ‘middle-point’ at that time. Christopher grew up in quite conservative surroundings in Southern Germany, so he confesses that his initial interest in art might have arisen from a need for self-expression. “After my BA in Fine Art, I felt a bit disoriented and unsure about making art as a profession.”
Eventually, Christopher moved to London to do an MA in Design at Central Saint Martins, where he learnt quite a lot about image-making, something he now applies to his painting practice. “Living in London and experiencing its art scene more closely inspired and motivated me to go back to painting, which is why I decided to do an MFA at Goldsmiths and fully concentrate on art. With the time I got to appreciate art more and more as a way of communication and reflection as opposed to the academic observational drawing I had grown up with.”
Christopher’s work represents a new conception of bodies and their presence in space. Bigger than real bodies, these figures seem to escape from the painting, where emotions and relationships are featured in a contemporary context of emptiness or alienation. “I’ve always been drawn to the human figure, and that is something that has never changed. Even though my work itself is not about me, it contains elements that are deeply personal. I want to talk about themes that are close to me and I have found the best way to communicate them is through painting.”
The way he approaches masculinity is completely opposed to traditional definitions of it, as the figures he paints appear inward facing, caught between hiding and exposing vulnerability, paying special attention to the way he disconnects facial expressions from body shapes and minds. If we add all of these reflections to his innate sense for colour, his artwork turns into a deep explosion of contradictory emotions. “I am interested in the ambiguity of a facial expression or skin touching skin. The figures seem often static, almost paralyzed as a result of dealing with the abundance of (contradictory) emotions. I focus on complex relationships shaped by emotional attachment and detachment, in which a seemingly tender touch speaks of distance and rejection.”
