Aerial Map Washington Dc

Chase Langford has invented a distinctive visual language that is grounded in the natural and built environment while embarking into uncharted territory. His impactful depictions recall maps and aerial photography of sea coasts, mountains, farmland and cities through a calculated execution and highly refined draftsmanship.

Just as the West Coast Abstract Expressionists (1940–70) found California’s striking landscape fertile ground, so does Langford as he draws upon his geographic environs both near and far. Through his cartographic mastery, Langford contorts and synthesizes geographic elements, bringing forth paintings that are mysteriously familiar yet surprisingly unconventional. They challenge conventions of geography and landscapes, offering invigorating visions of space and place that transcend any specific locale, leading us to an exhilarating emotional experience.

Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Langford is a Los Angeles-based artist well known for his geographically inspired paintings. He studied cartography earning a BA from UC Santa Barbara in geography then worked as a cartographer at UCLA. Starting with his “Map Paintings,” Langford literally reinterpreted geography by taking selected features from maps and filled in the reconfigured shapes in a flurry of color and movement creating a fresh take on familiar geographic forms. This was followed with a series that moved even deeper into pure abstraction with his “Coldwater,” “Mulholland,” and “Scrape” series, which all lead to his “Morphic” series, now the core focus of his painting today.

Langford’s paintings have been widely shown at one-person and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C., Montreal, Palo Alto, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Napa Valley, Seattle, and Palm Springs, and are included many corporate/public collections (often site-specific commissions) such as Long Beach Museum of Art, Keck School of Medicine at USC, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Star City in Sydney, Australia, and more. Langford’s work is held in private collections in North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia. It is also in the private collections of Magic Johnson and the Saudi royal family.

Find original Chase Langford art on 1stDibs.

Bring audacious experiments with color and textures to your living room, dining room or home office. Abstract paintings, large or small, will stand out in your space, encouraging conversation and introducing a museum-like atmosphere that’s welcoming and conducive to creating memorable gatherings.

Abstract art has origins in 19th-century Europe, but it came into its own as a significant movement during the 20th century. Early practitioners of abstraction included Wassily Kandinsky, although painters were exploring nonfigurative art prior to the influential Russian artist’s efforts, which were inspired by music and religion. Abstract painters endeavored to create works that didn’t focus on the outside world’s conventional subjects, and even when artists depicted realistic subjects, they worked in an abstract mode to do so.

In 1940s-era New York City, a group of painters working in the abstract mode created radical work that looked to European avant-garde artists as well as to the art of ancient cultures, prioritizing improvisation, immediacy and direct personal expression. While they were never formally affiliated with one another, we know them today as Abstract Expressionists.

The male contingent of the Abstract Expressionists, which includes Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell, is frequently cited in discussing leading figures of this internationally influential postwar art movement. However, the women of Abstract Expressionism, such as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and others, were equally involved in the art world of the time. Sexism, family obligations and societal pressures contributed to a long history of their being overlooked, but the female Abstract Expressionists experimented vigorously, developed their own style and produced significant bodies of work.

Draw your guests into abstract oil paintings across different eras and countries of origin. On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive range of abstract paintings along with a guide on how to arrange your wonderful new wall art.

If you’re working with a small living space, a colorful, oversize work can create depth in a given room, but there isn’t any need to overwhelm your interior with a sprawling pièce de résistance. Colorful abstractions of any size can pop against a white wall in your living room, but if you’re working with a colored backdrop, you may wish to stick to colors that complement the decor that is already in the space. Alternatively, let your painting make a statement on its own, regardless of its surroundings, or group it, gallery-style, with other works.