Thursday Edition: Christian Chaize

Apres Grande 7 by Christian Chaize

Apres Grande 7 by Christian Chaize
11"x11" ($50) | 20"x20" ($250) | 35"x35" ($2500) | 50"x50" ($5000)

Sans Titre 21 by Christian Chaize
11"x11" ($50) | 20"x20" ($250) | 35"x35" ($2500) | 50"x50" ($5000)

Please note: Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists' originals. The 11"x11" and 20"x20" prints have a border of 0.5 inches to allow for framing. The 35"x35" prints have a border of 3 inches, and the 50"x50" prints have a border of 4 inches, per the artist's specifications.

It's-almost-the-weekend greetings, collectors! Today I write with news of new editions from one of 20x200's most beloved artists, the charming and talented Christian Chaize. What makes this announcement especially special is that Apres Grande 7 and Sans Titre 21 are our first editions from two of Christian's new bodies of work. Drifting away from his much-adored images in Praia Piquinia, Apres Grande 7, from Christian's evolving Praia Grande series, carries us into the territory explored in Paradis, including Sans Titre 21.

In both works, we find ourselves looking at the prosaic details of seascapes—water, sky and sand—from a different, increasingly distant perspective. Christian describes the Portugese beach featured in Praia Piquinia—the first series of his we presented here and at the gallery—as being "as familiar to me now as a family member." With Paradis, created farther south, in the Seychelles, Christian finds himself in his element, along the shore, but not quite at home. In this familiar-yet-foreign setting, it's the characteristics of the place that he hones in on, rather than its people and their attendant things.

The resulting images are more subtle—sculptural, abstract and meditative; assembled elegantly within a squared frame—than the exuberant finery of the Piquinia vacationers' umbrellas. The beauty in Paradis emerges from a more nuanced palette comprising the curves of tide-worn boulders and the hearty plant life that takes hold amongst their crevices. As I wrote in the press release for the exhibition of this work that's currently on view at Jen Bekman Gallery, "here Chaize uses the lens to contemplate the beach in a more private and reverent manner. Paradis demonstrates his ability to shift subjects and tonal ranges and still manage to coax out details of the beach others might overlook."

We'll also have work from both this and his beloved Praia Piquinia series at the upcoming Pulse Art Fair in Miami. You'll find us in Booth E101, where Christian's photographs will be hanging alongside new work by Carrie Marill, Sarah McKenzie and Michelle Muldrow. As you might have surmised, there's much to feast your eyes upon 'round these parts right now and, yes!, there's more to come. In fact, it just so happens that today's photographs are two of the three new editions we'll be presenting by Christian before year's end. What ever will that last edition be? You'll just have to keep an eye on your inbox to find out.

— Jen

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