"Strange-the sensation one gets when confronted with mounds of bruised, tumorous flesh, mingled with various forbidden fruits, festering produce, and delicious looking gummy forms. Such is the kind of disorienting cornucopia that Christian Rex van Minnen brings to the table. Gazing into these luscious assortments, we just may feel tempted to reach out and give them a squeeze. Yet, on second thought, perhaps best not, lest we be willing to deal with the kind of tainted residue that won't wash off easily."
"Van Minnen has spent much of his life closely observing obscure details within the natural world, seeing correlations and expressions in places likely deemed trivial by most eyes. "I have always been a surrealist, finding inexhaustible joy in doodling and watching for things to emerge, natural forms and suggestive physiologies that carry a preternatural emotional content that transcends life itself," says the California-based artist."
"Intuiting intermediary worlds of this kind requires a certain level of psychic engagement and interrelatedness with one's internal and external environments. "I think nature, tidepools, and Golden Field Guides are foundational. My parents kept my attention on nature at all times, and also gave me language and confidence to listen closely to my heart, to pursue inner knowledge," he adds."
Christian Rex van Minnen transforms close observations of obscure natural details into surreal paintings that combine fleshy, tumorous forms with forbidden fruits and gummy textures. The compositions produce an unsettling yet visually appealing cornucopia that tempts tactile engagement while suggesting lingering, tainted residue. The creative process balances stream-of-consciousness surrealism with careful technical devices to render pleasing images. Foundational influences include nature, tidepools, and Golden Field Guides, reinforced by parental encouragement to observe closely. The work implies intermediary, psychic worlds that arise from interrelatedness between internal feeling and external environments.
Read at Hi-Fructose Magazine - The New Contemporary Art Magazine
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