Artist
Chris Reilly
American, b. 1967
- Biography
- Curriculum Vitae
Reilly seeks to make works that are objects of contemplation. The stillness of meditation is echoed in the quietude of the finished painting that has undergone a process of creation, destruction and finally preservation. Creatures that transform, such as dragonflies and butterflies, are arranged in a loose grid symbolizing the enduring pattern of regeneration. Branches, laden with blossoms and fruit, stretch across the canvas receiving light and mimicking a human limb. These works are built up with wax and scraped down until a feeling of serenity is achieved. Encaustic painter Chris Reilly applies molten beeswax, damar resin and pure pigment to a water-colored canvas panel. Using a heat gun and bristle brushes, each brushstroke is fused to the previous layer. A wood chisel is then employed to carve and scrape the surface. For fine lines, an electric wax “pen” is used. The fast drying time and thick translucence make for a spontaneous luminous painting. Chris was born in New York in 1967. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY. He has participated in numerous one and two person shows in galleries nationwide.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019 Blue Azul Collection San Diego, CA
2018 Meyer gallery Park City,UT
2015 Meyer Gallery Park City, Utah Diehl Galley “Aviarium, "Jackson, WY
2014 Archangel Gallery Palm Springs, CA
2013 Gail Severn Gallery Ketchum, ID
2012 Meyer Gallery Park City, UT
2011 “New Works” Gail Severn Gallery Ketchum, ID
2010 “New Paintings” Etra Fine Art Miami,FL“New Work” Winston Wachter Fine Art Seattle, WAMeyer Gallery Park City, UT
2009 “Buddhamirror” Scott White Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
2008 “New Work”, Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle, WA
2007 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID “Spiral Heart Shell”, Scott White Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
2006 Winston Wachter Fine Art, New York, NY
2005 Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle, WA
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2004 “create. destroy. preserve.”, Scott White Contemporary, San Diego, CA
2003 Scott White Contemporary Art, Telluride, CO
2001 “Nimbus”, Eyre/ Moore Gallery, Seattle, WA
“Imago”, Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
“Christopher Reilly & Michele Haglund”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2000 “Halo”, Avenue Arts, Salt Lake City, UT
1999 Eyre/ Moore Gallery, Seattle, WA
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1998 “Immanent and Translucent”, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
1997 “Growth and Stillness”, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
“Fossil”, Allen Sheppard Gallery, Piermont, NY
1995 “Creation, Growth, and Dissolution”, The Writing Center, San Diego, CA
1994 “The Nature of Things”, “B” Street Gallery, San Diego, CA
“Stillness”, The Writing Center, San Diego, CA
1989 “Duality in Nature”, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Diehl Gallery "Bright & Beautiful VI", Jackson WY 2021 Diehl Gallery “Bright & Beautiful V”, Jackson WY
2019 Diehl Gallery “The Gloaming”, Jackson, WY
2018 Wodbury Art Museum Orem, UT “Art of our Century”
2009 “50 San Diego Artists” Quint Fine Art La Jolla, CA
2008 “Summer in Chelsea”, Winston Wachter Fine Art, New York, NY
“Group Exhibition” Scott White Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
2002 “Terrain”, Scott White Contemporary Art, Telluride, CO
“Beyond Botanica”, Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
2001 Allan Sheppard Gallery, New York, NY
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2000 “Summer Group Exhibition”, SOMA Gallery, La Jolla, CA
1998 “Summer Group Exhibition”, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
“A Common Thread”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
“Animism: Icon, Metaphor, Myth”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1997 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
“Winter Group Exhibition”, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
1996 Allen Sheppard Gallery, Piermont, NY
“Summer Group Exhibition”, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
“5th Annual Juried Exhibition”, Athenaeum, La Jolla, CA
1996Park City Gallery, Park City, UT
Susan Street Gallery, Solana Beach, CA
1995 The Art Institute, San Diego, CA
1993 “B” Street Gallery, San Diego, CA
AWARDS
1996 Third Place, The La Jolla Athenaeum 5th Annual Juried Exhibition
1991 Second Place, Del Mar Fair Painting Exhibit
1989 Francis Criss Memorial Purchase Award
PUBLICATIONS
Rankin, Lissa Encaustic Art: The Complete Guide
Skinner, Tina 100 Artists of the West Coast #2
Rose, Joshua, Waxing Poetic”, American Art Collector January 2008 (with reproductions)
Busler, Leslie, “Artists to Watch”, Southwest Art, Sept. 1998 (with reproduction)
Baldridge, Charlene, “In Love with the Light”, La Jolla Village News, Apr. 1997 (with reproduction)
Pincus, Robert, “Doing Justice to the Juried”, San Diego Union Tribune, May 16, 1995
Saville, Jonathan, “Experiences of the Sacred”, San Diego Reader, May 5, 1994 (with reproductions)
Southwest Art, September 1998: “Artists to Watch”
La Jolla Village News, April 1997: “In Love with the Light”
San Diego Union Tribune, May 1995: “Doing Justice to the Juried”
San Diego Reader, May 1994: “Experiences of the Sacred”
- Available Works
- Sold Works
- Exhibitions
- Videography
- News
- Press