Masquerade II Painting

Christopher Wagemann is a certified sommelier and oil painter originally from Saint Louis, Missouri. Christopher's work is designed to take what we see every day, what is often overlooked or ignored, and he reshapes it. He takes abstract influences from artists like Josef Albers and Pierre Soulages and studies in realism as well as figurative work from Mark Carder and David Cheifetz. His work is built on complete craftsmanship; from his hand stretched canvas' and Masonite panels, to his Solera Method Oil Paint. Nothing here is done the easy way. The Solera Method: is a system of fractional blending liquids for the purposes of aging and maintaining a consistency. The inspiration for The Solera Method Oil Paint was inspired by Sherry wine producers in Spain. Solera Oil Paint is crafted from ground pigment, using a mortar, and pestle with carefully selected binders. Only using four colors; red, yellow, blue, and white forming a purely limited palette, which is then fractionally blended with itself from previously created paint and further used to create black and other ranges of color hue angles. Ultimately, the real work of art has become the paint, which is a unique concept in the art world. Each painting is nothing more than an act of displaying the oil paint rather than the form it takes on canvas. Every piece of art is directly connected and influenced by each other, from the very first painting to the last. Paint that is left unused on one piece, in addition to paint washed from the brushes, are recycled, blended, and used for the next piece of art. Thus, creating the ‘The Perfect Darkness’, a constantly developing grey- scale that is used in all of Christopher's paintings. Christopher is inspired by forms that are beautiful, provide a sense of peace, but with sensuality at the core. Heavily relying on the use of negative space, he uses a monochrome tone to create a dynamic contrast, occasionally adding color as an accent to each piece. His endeavor is to always create something beautiful and calming, a classical depiction in a modern format. Most works are on display in his working studio called Perfect Darkness Fine Art Studio located within the Arts Factory in Las Vegas