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Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

American, b. 1953
Balancing between abstraction and figurative, the works of Chris Gwaltney are evocative, luminous, and lush. He balances color with unexpected washes and scribbles; scraping physically from the surface as he generously slaps paint onto the canvas. Having studied Bay Area figurative painters - such as Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliviera, and David Park - and influenced by the works of Joan Mitchell and Robert Motherwell, Gwaltney begins each work with a conversation in mind. He often starts with a vertical gesture, builds with foundations of layers, and allows the composition to reveal itself as he works. Gwaltney lives in Laguna Beach and holds a BA and MA from the University of California State Fullerton. He has exhibited throughout the US, including Peter Blake Gallery (Laguna Beach, CA), Seager Gray Gallery and Robert Green Fine Arts (Mill Valley, CA), Cadogan Contemporary (London, England), Anne Loucks Gallery (Glencoe, IL), Julie Nester (Park City, UT), and Tria Gallery (New York, NY). His work has garnered an international following and resides in numerous public and private collections. “Because his abstractions in progress bristle with visual interest—including an icing of drips and tangles of wild line—as each work moves toward its conclusion, Gwaltney plays the role of an editor, eliminating anything that he feels stands in the way of expressive clarity. “I think that what great poets do is distill feeling,” he comments. “I want to do the same thing in painting and present the absolute essence of an emotional state.” Because of his rigorous quest for pure feeling, viewers of Gwaltney’s work should understand that the essence of his art is this: what is left is what is needed.” John Seed, Art Writer
(Biography provided by Kennedy Contemporary)
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Artist: Chris Gwaltney
Intimate/Expansive
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
CHRIS GWALTNEY is a painter from Southern California. He paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface...
Category

2010s Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Alphabet
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
CHRIS GWALTNEY is a painter from Southern California. He paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface...
Category

2010s Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Reading Out Loud
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
CHRIS GWALTNEY is a painter from Southern California. He paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface...
Category

2010s Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Be Ordinary
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
CHRIS GWALTNEY is a painter from Southern California. He paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface...
Category

2010s Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Zig Zag
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Abstract figurative oil painting on linen.
Category

2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

You Can Only See From Here
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
Chris Gwaltney paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface finishes, compiling multiple layers of pain...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Thoughts Forced (Upon Myself)
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Oil painting on canvas.
Category

2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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Previously Available Items
Reading Room
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Sonder
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Oil and cold wax on linen. In this latest series of paintings, Chris is starting to move away from the human figure as the central topic of his artwork. By using an abstract style, h...
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2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

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Oil

Sonder
H 50 in W 44 in D 2 in
Mr. Chow
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
Chris Gwaltney paints in a lush style, combining areas of abstraction with loose figurative elements. He experiments with sensuous surface finishes, compiling multiple layers of pain...
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2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

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Oil

Mr. Chow
H 36 in W 36 in D 2 in
Shout Because Whispers Fail
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Located in Park City, UT
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Unfinished
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
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Unfinished
H 55 in W 44 in D 3 in
King of California
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Park City, UT
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2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

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Oil

Teacher
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Located in Mill Valley, CA
Abstract figurative oil painting on linen.
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Linen, Oil

Prequel
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Abstract figurative oil painting on linen.
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2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

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Linen, Oil

Ms. Pollard
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Abstract figurative oil painting on linen.
Category

2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Grey Chalkboard
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Abstract figurative oil painting on linen.
Category

2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Adams Ave. Waitress
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
Figurative oil painting on canvas.
Category

2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Square Two
By Chris Gwaltney
Located in Mill Valley, CA
oil on linen
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2010s Contemporary Chris Gwaltney Figurative Paintings

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Linen, Oil

Chris Gwaltney figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Chris Gwaltney figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Chris Gwaltney in oil paint, paint, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Chris Gwaltney figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 30 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Darren LeGallo, David Mellen, and Philip Buller. Chris Gwaltney figurative paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,800 and tops out at $29,500, while the average work can sell for $17,200.

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