Chris Hopewell
Chris Hopewell’s works are process orientated, with gestured marks, tones and textures applied over the top of a succession of previous layers. His interest lies in spatially weaving various, distinct dimensions in order to create new and random environments. Upon observation of one of his artworks, threads in free association are triggered and unfold for the viewer.
Saint Joan (detail), 2024, acrylic and resin on canvas, 70 x 50cm | Chris Hopewell
Born in the Western Australian Wheatbelt town of Northam, Chris Hopewell studied a BA fine art at WAIT (Curtin University of Technology). Following study, he spent two decades in New York continuing his art practice and working as an art director in film.
Chris’ abstract approach to painting is process driven, spontaneously evolving in the moment. Constantly striving for an aesthetic of random asymmetry, layers of marks and gestures are manipulated to procure anthropomorphic images and shapes through pareidolia. Colliding in their shifting environments of energy and movement they evoke mystical, ritualistic atmospheres to form blueprints that mirror the formation of memory, myth and dreams embedded in our collective consciousness.
Chris Hopewell's work can be found in a number of public collections, including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Bankwest, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Kerry Stokes Collection and Wesfarmers.
