Chase Langford Art

Chase Langford has created 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 seacoasts, mountains, farmland and cities through a calculated execution and highly refined draftsmanship. Just as the West Coast Abstract Expressionists (1940 to 1970) 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, Chase is a California-based artist well known for his geographically inspired paintings. He studied cartography at UC Santa Barbara in Geography. While working as a cartographer at UCLA, he started his Map Paintings series he 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 followed with 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. His paintings have been widely shown at one-person and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York City, Toronto, Dallas, Palm Beach, Washington DC, Montreal, Palo Alto, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Napa Valley, Seattle, and Palm Springs and is included in many corporate/public collections such as Long Beach Museum of Art, Keck School of Medicine at USC, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Star City in Sydney, Australia, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Monique Lhuillier, Inc., Caesar’s Palace, UBS, Nordstrom and The Art Bank, U.S. Dept of State. He is in private collections in North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Middle East, Singapore and Australia. He is also in the private collections of Magic Johnson, Pete Sampras...

Oil and Metallic Paint on Canvas. Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location with carefully selected color and precise shapes. In the 1980’s, after studying cartography at UC Santa Barbara and drawing maps for the UCLA faculty, Langford began exploring ways to combine his mastery of map-making with his love of fine art. In his original map paintings, Langford reinterprets geography by taking selected features from maps and filling in the reconfigured shapes with flurries of color, exploring varied locations such as Essex, England and the Galapagos Islands. In his “Morphic” series, Langford once again finds inspiration in specific geographic regions, abstracting them until they are nearly unrecognizable with colors interweaving and flowing around each other. Almost seeming to mimic the fluid strata of the Earth, Langford adds and scrapes away layers of oil paint, building up intricate textures while simultaneously revealing the colors below. Langford’s highly-collected “Chroma” series began as a happy mistake. One day, displeased with the brushwork of a painting, he decided to obscure the image by painting small rows of vertical brushstrokes; in doing so, he took note of the beauty of organic uniformity. After years of refining his technique, Langford created the trance-like paintings that he likes to think of as rows of city blocks on a map. Langford has completed many site-specific commissions, including for Monique Lhuillier, Inc.; the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; and Caesar’s Palace. His artwork is in private collections in North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia including those of Magic Johnson...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location with carefully selected color and precise shapes. In the 1980’s, after studying cartography at UC Santa Barbara and drawing maps for the UCLA faculty, Langford began exploring ways to combine his mastery of map-making with his love of fine art. In his original map paintings, Langford reinterprets geography by taking selected features from maps and filling in the reconfigured shapes with flurries of color, exploring varied locations such as Essex, England and the Galapagos Islands. In his “Morphic” series, Langford once again finds inspiration in specific geographic regions, abstracting them until they are nearly unrecognizable with colors interweaving and flowing around each other. Almost seeming to mimic the fluid strata of the Earth, Langford adds and scrapes away layers of oil paint, building up intricate textures while simultaneously revealing the colors below. Langford’s highly-collected “Chroma” series began as a happy mistake. One day, displeased with the brushwork of a painting, he decided to obscure the image by painting small rows of vertical brushstrokes; in doing so, he took note of the beauty of organic uniformity. After years of refining his technique, Langford created the trance-like paintings that he likes to think of as rows of city blocks on a map. Langford has completed many site-specific commissions, including for Monique Lhuillier, Inc.; the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; and Caesar’s Palace...

Oil and Metallic Paint on Canvas. Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, ev...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Oil and Metallic Paint on Canvas. Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, ev...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

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 to 1970) 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. Bio Chase Langford born in Pontiac, Michigan, 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 he 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 followed with 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. His paintings have been widely shown at one-person and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, Montreal, Palo Alto, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Napa Valley, Seattle, and Palm Springs and included many corporate/public collections (often site specific commissions) such as Long Beach Musuem of Art, Keck School of Medicine at USC, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Star City...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location wi...

Inspired by cartography from an early age, Chase Langford’s abstract paintings transform the familiarity of cities and maps into fluid visions, evoking the feeling of the location with carefully selected color and precise shapes. In the 1980’s, after studying cartography at UC Santa Barbara and drawing maps for the UCLA faculty, Langford began exploring ways to combine his mastery of map-making with his love of fine art. In his original map paintings, Langford reinterprets geography by taking selected features from maps and filling in the reconfigured shapes with flurries of color, exploring varied locations such as Essex, England and the Galapagos Islands. In his “Morphic” series, Langford once again finds inspiration in specific geographic regions, abstracting them until they are nearly unrecognizable with colors interweaving and flowing around each other. Almost seeming to mimic the fluid strata of the Earth, Langford adds and scrapes away layers of oil paint, building up intricate textures while simultaneously revealing the colors below. Langford’s highly-collected “Chroma” series began as a happy mistake. One day, displeased with the brushwork of a painting, he decided to obscure the image by painting small rows of vertical brushstrokes; in doing so, he took note of the beauty of organic uniformity. After years of refining his technique, Langford created the trance-like paintings that he likes to think of as rows of city blocks on a map. Langford has completed many site-specific commissions, including for Monique Lhuillier, Inc.; the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; and Caesar’s Palace. His artwork is in private collections in North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia including those of Magic Johnson...