Christopher Owen Nelson

Backcountry

2020

Christopher Owen Nelson thrives in the landscape of the American West. As a Colorado native, he studied fine arts at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design where he learned classical methods in drawing and painting. While developing a deep appreciation for composition and form, Nelson focused on alternative materials; sculpting with used carpet, found objects and painting on glass. At one point, he pursued a career in construction— gaining valuable knowledge in concrete, steel and woodworking that would provide the substructure for a new and innovative artistic approach. For Nelson, critical attention and art world accolades have been swift and abundant. Early honors include the Painting Award at the 15th National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts (awarded by Paul Ha, the director of the List Visual Art Center at M.I.T.). Recently Nelson’s achievements have been featured in several national publications, including: Western Art Collector; Luxe Interiors and Design; Western Art and Architecture; Santa Fean magazine, and American Art Collector. Through prestigious exhibitions and collections, his artworks have travelled the globe. Early into his career, Nelson boasts over a dozen solo exhibitions in addition to numerous private and public acquisitions worldwide. Expanding upon his limitless drive for creativity, Nelson is also an avid singer and songwriter—exploring feelings of beauty and loss, lightness and dark intertwined. These same concepts are mirrored in some of his art, wherein barren trees fracture solitary space. A consistent thread that runs throughout all of his work is a need to transform shadow and grit into something bright and smooth. Nelson’s portraiture suggests that even the people we are the most intimate with will forever remain mysterious beings, delving into infinite soul-searching. Nelson’s creations reveal the dynamic nature of existence, thought and feeling aligning within a vision uniquely his own. Combining his skills in painting, construction and songwriting, Nelson illustrates deliberate yet subconscious narratives guided by lucid dreamscape. Mirroring his own self development, his work continues to grow in scale and in concept. Bound by no medium, he creates in a perpetual state of research and development. Striking his own path, he cuts a wide road for future pace setters. The art world follows in double time. "Deeply Driven… … by process and technique, I have allowed my work to evolve as an examination of self. There are seemingly endless parallels between how I approach my relationship with a subject, and how I approach my relationship with own individuality— perpetually excavating and exploring the layers beneath the physical in search of a deeper truth. My approach to form is always one born from a place of curiosity, limitless potential, and an acceptance of what something wants to be versus what I think it should be. My work is a manifestation of who I want to be and how I want to be seen and heard— creating with the intent of energetically communicating what I feel cannot be said." -Christopher Owen Nelson, 2019